


Sly, Not Subtle

by CodeOne



Series: Hunterverse [4]
Category: Zootopia
Genre: Breather Episode, Humor, Nick Meets the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-28 00:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10820346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodeOne/pseuds/CodeOne
Summary: Nick is preparing to meet Judy's parents. However, Hunter, still suspended from the force, manages to make Zootopia a little too hot for him. Nick realizes that taking Hunter with them will kill two birds with one stone- get him out of town, and hopefully keep some of the heat off of him.After all, how much trouble could he get into in bucolic Bunnyburrow?Part 4 of the Hunter stories. Comes after Hunter and Hunted.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is what could be called a breather episode- a low stakes, highly humor-oriented story after what I hope was a pretty intense story before that (Hunter and Hunted). I intend to start developing Nick and Judy's relationship a lot more in this one, and so they'll be getting a lot of "screen time". I couldn't resist Hunter going to Bunnyburrow with them, however, as his unique brand of inadvertent havoc should be pretty amusing.
> 
> I would like to thank Erinnyes01 for the outstanding assistance provided with editing- it was extremely helpful. Several mistakes were corrected with Erinnyes01's able assistance and advice. Thanks so much!
> 
> All errors, of course, are still mine and mine alone.
> 
> I will be simultaneously posting this on FF.net, but for some reason it's not letting me right now. Hopefully be up on there soon.

Nick and Judy sipped their coffee sitting silently at the table in Hunter's small kitchen.

They could hear the snores from Hunter's bedroom as he slept off what had seemed to be most of the contents of the bar they had been at the night before.

Nick winced as a particularly powerful snore broke the silence. "Are you sure about this?" he asked Judy plaintively.

"Yes," she answered firmly. "We're all he's got left."

"But-" he paused as a snore dissolved into a strange, hacking rasp. He gestured towards the bedroom.

Judy's ears laid back, but her voice remained firm. "He's going to be evicted, and he doesn't have a source of income, Nick. What do you suggest, he live on the streets?"

"No," said Nick sourly. "If he snores like that all the time the homeless mammals will kill him before sunrise."

It wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was probably as close as she was going to get. "By the way," she said, hesitantly. "You know I called my mom this morning?"

He nodded. "How's she doing?"

"Scared. Worried." Judy leaned back, avoiding his eyes by watching the ceiling and took a breath. "And maybe a bit more because I, uh, told her about you- about us, I mean."

Nick spat out his coffee. "What? Why?"

"Well, I had to tell her sooner or later."

"What was wrong with later?"

Judy glared at him. "Weren't you the one who was upset about me refusing to-" she made air quotes- "define the relationship?"

"Now, wait a minute-"

She stood up. "You mean a lot to me, Nick, and so do they. I'm not going to hide you from them, like some sort of, I don't know, dirty secret."

The fox put his ears back. "No, of course not. But maybe we could have kept it under our hats for just a little longer. I mean, don't your parents sort of have a thing about foxes?"

Judy hesitated, her annoyance evaporating as suddenly as it had arisen. "Well-"

Nick sighed. "Well, it's done now anyway. I guess we can lay low a bit, maybe let them get used to the idea."

"Uh-"  
He looked up at her suspiciously. "What?"

Judy had a guilty look on her face. "Well, I sort of- she can be really persuasive sometimes-"

Nick rose from his seat, his eyes fixed on Judy. "Carrots, what did you do?"

"I mean, we might as well get it over with-"

"Carrots-" Nick said warningly, a slight growl in his tone.

"I said we'd come to see them and they could meet you."

Nick stared at her, his face frozen in disbelief, his eyes wide. "Oh, no."

She smiled helplessly. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Behind them, Hunter padded into the kitchen, still wearing his clothes from the night before- though they had managed to take off his boots after he had collapsed into his bed. He walked to the refrigerator and opened it.

Nick and Judy watched him, surprised by his blase reaction to their presence.

Hunter pulled out a carton of milk and squinted at it, apparently reading the expiration date. He still gave no sign of acknowledging them.

Nick and Judy traded a look.

The human muttered something, then shrugged and started swigging directly from the carton. Judy finally decided to say something. "Good morning!" she said brightly.

Hunter spat the milk out and whirled, hand grasping for his waistband where his gun would normally be. He spotted the two mammals at the table and stared, wide-eyed. "Where did you two come from?"

"Um, we've been right here ever since you walked in," said Judy, who had skipped back at his reaction.

He looked from one to the other. "Seriously?"

Nick shook his head. "Geeze, Hunter, you really were drunk."

He eyed the fox. "Well, I am a professional."

"Professional drinker? Or did you mean professional cop?"

"There's a difference?" Hunter grabbed a towel and started dabbing at the counter where he had sprayed the milk. "Not that I mind, but what are you two still hanging around for?"

"We woke up only about an hour or two ago," said Judy. "We decided to hang around, make sure you were still alive."

"The issue did seem in doubt," put in Nick. He scowled. "Especially when you started snoring."

"I don't snore. And besides, wouldn't that have made it even clearer I was alive?"

"No, I mean I was getting ready to kill you."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks anyway."

"For staying over or not killing you?"

"Either. Both. So you stayed over just to make sure I survived, huh?"

"That, and Tavi didn't have a ride."

Confused, Hunter looked around, before spotting her curled up on the sofa. He shook his head. "Didn't really plan for a sleepover."

"Why don't we get breakfast?" said Judy suddenly. "There's a place not far from here I know-"

Hunter was shaking his head. "No, I'm not really a breakfast person. You guys don't need to hang around with me- I know you still have things to do. Like apartment hunting."

Once again, Nick and Judy glanced at one another. Nick looked at Hunter. "Well, as a matter of fact, we were talking, and- well, we know you can't afford to pay rent here anymore since you're on unpaid suspension, and, uh-" he trailed off as Hunter narrowed his eyes at him.

Judy picked up where he left off. "We thought you might stay with us. You know, room with us until you get off suspension."

For a long moment, Hunter just stared at them. "You know I can't really help with bills or rent much," he said finally. "I mean, I might be able to find some kind of temporary job, but-"

"It's fine," said Nick. "I mean, you'd do the same for us."

"Debatable," said the human flatly.

Judy rolled her eyes.

"More importantly, I can be kind of hard to live with," warned Hunter. He seemed to be considering the idea.

"Oh, come on," said Judy cheerfully, seeing that he was almost persuaded. "We've saved each other's lives so many times now, how hard could it be to live together?"

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Nick walked into their new apartment and found Judy glaring at him, paws on her hips.

"You need to either talk to him, or help me hide his body," she said tightly.

Nick frowned. "Hunter?"

"Who else?"

They had been in the apartment for only a week, and though the snoring was bearable- due only to the extensive soundproofing and the fact that the two bedrooms of the apartment were on opposite sides- Hunter had been correct in his warning.

Years of living as a bachelor meant that he was used to doing things his own way. He was up at all hours, often pacing around the apartment, silent except for vague mutters to himself. His old place had been very clean, but Nick and Judy had learned to their chagrin that he'd had a maid, presumably a very tolerant and hardworking one. Dishes were generally left wherever he had finished eating, and carelessly discarded clothing was often strewn around.

They had accepted his quirks with relative equanimity, and even seen progress as Hunter adjusted to having roommates. But Judy had never been like this.

"What's he done?"

"He got a job," said Judy.

"Really? That's great!"

"He's working from home," she continued in an ominous tone. "Finnick got him the job," she added.

Nick paused. "Uh-"

"Go into the living room."

Nick hesitantly walked through the entry and dining area and around the corner to the living room. He stopped, staring.

A dropcloth had been draped across the expanse of carpet between the sofa and TV. Paint and what appeared to be dried concrete was spattered across it. Nick groaned inwardly as he realized that not all the splashed concrete and paint had been caught by the dropcloth.

In the middle of the room, Hunter was on his knees, carefully pouring concrete into a rectangular mold roughly half a meter square. He glanced up as Nick came in. "Hey, Nick."

The fox looked at him, looked around at the room. "Hunter, what are you doing?"

"Finnick got me a job. We got along pretty well. He says 'Hi', by the way." Frowning in concentration, Hunter finished pouring the concrete and started carefully placing small wooden boards- Nick instantly recognized them as popsicle sticks- into the mold.

"What kind of job?" asked Nick. He noticed several other concrete slabs with popsicle sticks stuck upright in them. It seemed vaguely familiar-

"Construction," said Hunter cheerfully.

"Construction-"

"Yep. You know how I made models as a hobby?"

Nick nodded, remembering his surprise at discovering Hunter's odd way of relaxing. "Yes."

"Well, turns out that's about the only skill besides policing I have." Hunter finished placing the popsicle sticks and leaned back. "So I'm working on building these."

"And these are, what? Scale models of buildings?" Even as he said it, Nick realized what he was seeing.

"Nope!" Hunter grinned. "I'm prefabbing structures for a Little Rodentia construction firm. Finnick said you used to do business with them. They have scale models, though." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black jewelry case. He opened it and held it up to Nick. "See?" Nick saw a miniscule model of a building, clearly designed for rodent eyes.

It was at that moment that Judy walked in. They both looked at her.

She looked at Hunter, on his knees on the floor, holding up the open jewelry case to Nick, who stared at it in surprise. She looked at Nick, whose ears flattened as he realized what this looked like.

"Sweet cheese and crackers."

"Now wait a minute," said Nick hurriedly. "It's not like that- Hunter just whipped it out from his pants-"

Hunter winced. "Phrasing!"

She sighed. "Just when I think life can't get any weirder..."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Nick and Judy watched Hunter from the dining room as he continued to build the tiny structures.

"I've never seen him this focused," said Judy, her earlier anger faded. Though she winced whenever she spotted a new stain on the carpet.

Nick shrugged. "It's something he has control over. Something that he can do right, almost perfectly, and only himself to blame if he gets it wrong. Something where the stakes are small but the satisfaction is high."

Judy looked at him curiously.

He noticed her gaze and smiled ruefully. "I can relate."

She leaned against him. "You're still worried about meeting my parents."

He put his arm around her and sighed. "Yeah."

"It's going to be fine," she said. "They'll see just what kind of mammal you are, and then they'll see what I see in you."

He looked down at her. "And what do you see in me, exactly?"

She cocked her head to one side as she met his eyes. "What do you think?"

Nick opened his mouth, then stopped. He looked away. She felt him stiffen slightly.

Before she could say anything, he flashed a grin at her. "Well, besides handsome, brilliant, and charming, I can't think of anything."

She smiled weakly, but kept searching his eyes. There was a slight reticence there, a bit of a wall- should she try to find out what was going on?

He pulled her closer before she could say anything. "You know, I think Hunter might be busy in here for a while."

She looked back at Hunter, who was carefully starting on the second story of one of the buildings. "Oh?" she said, her heart starting to race.

"Uh-huh." He grinned at her again. "There's something I want to show you in the bedroom."

She rolled her eyes. "That's the best pick-up line you got?"

"Nope, this is." He suddenly snatched her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Hey! I thought foxes were subtle!"

"No, just 'sly'," he said cheerfully as he walked down the hall.

 


	2. Chapter 2

"Five prefabricated three story buildings," said Hunter to the rodent foremammal. He grunted as he lifted one from the back of Finnick's van to the ground. "How's it look?"  
The foremammal, Burrows, looked it over carefully, walking inside the building and testing the walls. He walked out again, nodding approvingly. "Not bad. That'll save us a fair bit of time- we'll have our engineers go over it to make sure, but I think we can go ahead and pay you now." He walked over to a tiny rodent truck nearby, Hunter following. Finnick, who had been driving, walked over to look at the miniature buildings.  
The rodent reached into the back of the truck and, with some difficulty, started pulling out hundred dollar bills, which he handed up to the human. "Though I'm not sure it's worth the effort of carrying around this big mammal money," he muttered.  
Hunter counted the bills silently as they were passed to him. "You could just write me a check."  
"Nah, better to work in cash in this business." Burrows handed him the last of the bills. "Well, there you go. Fifteen hundred."  
Hunter paused, recounted the money. "I thought we agreed on two thousand."  
Burrows looked up at him. "I thought you knew. You gotta pay off the Chargers."  
Hunter squinted down at the tiny mammal. "The who?"  
"The Chargers?" Burrows rolled his eyes at his look of incomprehension. "Hey, Finnick, tell him."  
"The Chargers," said Finnick, walking up. "They work the rackets around here. Can't do any construction work without giving them their share." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "It's big money, if you know what I mean."  
"Mobsters?" said Hunter, annoyed. "I ain't paying off mobsters. I owe Nick and Judy a new carpet."  
Through such subtle hints as hand drawn signs with arrows pointing at concrete which had hardened into the fibers, Hunter had been made aware that his drop cloth solution had been far from perfect. Brochures left on the kitchen table seemed to indicate that neon signs were next.  
Burrows shrugged. "Sorry. They saw the money truck and had to take their cut."  
Hunter narrowed his eyes. "Where can I find them?"  
"They're rhinos, Hunter," said Finnick warningly. "You may be a big mammal where you come from, but they'll pound you into paste. And they got big friends, get my meaning?"  
"Friends, eh?" Hunter smiled. "So do I. So where do I find them?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What's Tavi doing here? She's supposed to be on leave still."  
Bogo had stopped by the front desk, and had happened to glance at the security monitor which showed the roof. Clawhauser glanced up at him. "Oh, she came to see Shepherd."  
"Shepherd?" The water buffalo gave the monitor a confused glance. "Who's Shepherd?"  
Then the massive form of a heavily armored, black-painted vehicle came into the camera's view.  
"The tank," said Clawhauser helpfully.  
"Oh." Another figure could be seen. Bogo squinted. "That's Hunter. He's not supposed to be on the premises."  
"Um, he must have slipped by."  
The Chief shook his head. "See that he gets an escort off the station's property."  
They watched the tank roll up to Tavi, then away as Hunter approached. "I really need to do something about those two," muttered Bogo.  
"What? I think they're kinda cute."  
"Cute? It's completely inappropriate."  
"Well, I know there's a bit of a size difference," said Clawhauser defensively, "But they get along really well together."  
"A bit of a size difference? Come on, Benjamin, Tavi could literally fit inside."  
Clawhauser's eyes went wide. He suddenly shook himself as if ridding his mind of a particularly vivid mental image. "Um, well, I don't think that would be something they would do-"  
Bogo shook his head decisively. "Can't have them working patrol together. What would the citizens say?"  
"Well, maybe they'd think it was a good example of interspecies cooperation."  
For a long moment, Bogo stared at him. "Tavi and the tank?"  
Clawhauser hesitated. "What?"  
"I was talking about Tavi and the tank. She can't have that thing following her around everywhere." Bogo's eyes narrowed. "What were you talking about?"  
"Uh, the same thing.”  
"Right," he said dubiously. "What aren't you telling me, Clawhauser? Is there some rumor flying around?"  
"Er- sorry chief, I think someone just called me on the radio." Clawhauser seized the mike. "Dispatch to Thirty Eight Golf, go ahead with your traffic."  
The radio crackled. "I didn't say anything."  
"No, I'm sure you said you had something urgent enough for me to have to talk to you, but not so urgent that the chief has to hang around and waste his valuable time listening to," said Clawhauser, studiously avoiding Bogo's gaze.  
"Um, did I?" said the radio.  
"Yes."  
"I don't remember saying that."  
"Well, I'll stand by until you remember what it was." He glanced at Bogo then. "Sorry, chief, very busy."  
Bogo snorted dismissively and walked away.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter walked up to Tavi. "Hey, rookie."  
She gave him a surprised look. "I thought you weren't supposed to be on the station's premises."  
"Yeah, they shouldn't have put Clawhauser in charge of enforcing that. A few donuts and I walked right on through." He turned and watched the tank, which was racing across the roof towards them. "Still have your pet tank, I see."  
"His name is Shepherd." The tank, hovering a few feet above the ground, came to a stop in front of them. Hunter noticed that while the machine guns had been removed, there was a small manipulating arm that could be extruded from an external port.  
Which was currently holding a red ball. The tank dropped the ball in front of Tavi and backed up.  
Tavi picked up the ball and tossed it. The tank whipped around and sped after it.  
Hunter watched this in bemusement. "Tavi?"  
"Yes?"  
"Are you playing fetch with the tank?"  
"He likes it," said Tavi. "He says it allows him to calibrate his target acquisition, interception, and neutralization skills, as well as fine-tune the operation of that manipulating arm."  
"Oh."  
The tank raced back and dropped the ball near Tavi again. She looked up at Hunter. "So why are you breaking regs to come see me?"  
"Well, first of all, I figured I should see how you're doing."  
She shrugged. "Still kind of shook up. That was a hard first few months of police work."  
"It's usually not like that."  
"Is it better? Or worse?"  
Hunter looked away. "Mostly better." He hesitated. "Sometimes worse," he admitted.  
The mongoose looked down. "Oh."  
The tank swiveled to face each one of them. "Please continue the exercise, Commander," it said, eagerly.  
"Sorry, Shepherd, I think that's enough for today."  
"But-"  
"Exercise concluded," said Tavi firmly. "I'll come and see you again tomorrow."  
"Acknowledged," said the tank sadly. It drifted off a bit, idly swiveling to track a few passing birds.  
Hunter watched it. "Actually, there is something else."  
The tank swung around to face him, as Tavi looked up at him again. "What's that?" she asked.  
"I was wondering if you could help me with something."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Raymond Charger was walking his route along the shop fronts of Mouston Street. He riffled through the wad of bills he had collected, secretly enjoying the nervous looks of passersby. Nearly five thousand so far- the boss would be pleased. Since the boss was his father, that was particularly good.  
He was about to enter his next stop, a little fish and chips shop that was slightly behind on payments, when an unfamiliar type of mammal stepped out in front of him. Raymond stared at him.  
Hairless, except for some on the very top of his head, with a dark pelt. Raymond was not up on current events, but after a moment even he recognized a human. Weren't they all kicked out of Terra? He seemed to remember something vaguely like that. He looked down at the smaller mammal. Humans were about average size for a mammal, which made them much smaller than a rhino like him.  
"You're in my way," he rumbled warningly.  
The human just looked him up and down before meeting his eyes. "You owe me money."  
Raymond snorted in disbelief. "I don't think so."  
"Five hundred."  
The rhino rolled his eyes. "I don't owe nobody no five hundred thousand, and I don't carry that kind of dough around with me anyway. Get the hell outta my way."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter sighed. "It's not five hundred thousand, you moron, I mean five hundred dollars."  
The mobster squinted at him. "Five hundred dollars?"  
"Do I need to write it down or something? Yeah. Five hundred. Five zero zero."  
"You're trying to shake down a Charger for five hundred dollars? I don't even get out of bed for that sort of money." The rhino shifted irritably, apparently starting to get bored with the conversation.  
Unfazed, Hunter just shrugged. "Then you won't mind paying me what you owe. You took it from my employer, so he couldn't pay me what he owed. That makes you responsible."  
"Listen, little mammal. I don't have time for these games. Step aside, or I'm gonna walk right over you."  
"You don't want to do that." Hunter set his feet.  
"Oh? Now you're threatening me?" The rhino lowered his head so the thick horn on the end of his muzzle was pointing towards Hunter. "I don't care who you think you are. You know who I work for? Who my friends are?"  
"Look, as happy and surprised as I am to hear you have friends," said Hunter with an exaggerated yawn, "I don't have time for games, either. Just pay me what you owe and I won't have to get nasty."  
The rhino chuckled. "I'm actually curious. What are you gonna do?"  
"In answer, let me just say this. Say hello to my little friend."  
On cue, Tavi stepped out from behind him.  
The rhino stared down at her.  
"Hello," she said cheerily.  
The rhino looked her over, then back up at Hunter, confusion on his face. "I still don't get it."  
"Well, it turns out she has friends, too."  
From behind the rhino, a robotic voice spoke. "Target acquired."  
The rhino spun around and stared at the armored plating of a King Cobra Light Battle Tank. His eyes widened as it swiveled to face him fully.  
"If I were you, I wouldn't let anyone know you let a tank sneak up on you," said Tavi from behind him.  
"Hover tanks can be remarkably quiet, but yeah, it wouldn't look good on the ol' resume," put in Hunter.  
"Threat detected. Initiating neutralization procedures," said Shepherd the battle tank.  
The rhino turned to run, but was seized by the manipulator arm of the tank, which promptly hauled him into the air. Tavi and Hunter watched impassively as the tank raised him well above the ground.  
"Are lethal measures authorized?" asked the tank.  
"No!" said Tavi quickly as the rhino whimpered.  
"Just turn him upside down," said Hunter. The tank complied, the rhino squealing in terror as the world rotated. "Okay, now shake him."  
Coins, keys, two cell phones and a fair amount of cash fell to the ground as the rhino was shaken up and down. A few passersby stared. Hunter glanced at them, then decided to ignore it. He walked over and gathered up some of the cash. "Let's see, four hundred, four hundred twenty, forty, sixty, eighty- and five hundred." He looked up at the still vibrating rhino. "You can stop now, Shepherd."  
"Acknowledged." The tank kept hold of the rhino, but held him still. Raymond's eyes were wide and he looked a bit ill.  
Hunter tucked the cash back into his pocket. "Okay, pleasure doing business with you. Drop him, Shepherd."  
The rhino crashed to the ground, and Hunter leaned over him to look him in the eye. "Next time, you ask if I need protection before you take money for it, got it?"  
The rhino's eyes flicked to the tank, then back to Hunter. He nodded vigorously.  
"Because if I don't need protection, it means you probably will." He stepped back as the rhino shakily got to his feet, gathering up the belongings scattered onto the ground. "Now beat feet."  
The rhino, with one last wary look at the tank, took off at a lumbering run.  
Several store owners had come out to watch the commotion. One of them walked up to Hunter. "Is he gone?"  
Tavi nodded as she watched the rhino round the corner. "Looks like it."  
The shopkeeper seized Hunter's hand with his paw. "I don't know who you are, but thank you! They've been taking from us for years! If you want anything from the store, anything at all-"  
Nervously, Hunter pulled his hand free. "Look, I'm not- I was just getting my money back-"  
"But, but- look, if you want me to pay you- I mean, anyone would be better than the Chargers-"  
"Now wait a minute," said Hunter. "It's not like that. Look, I'll, um, I'll see what I can do, okay? But you don't have to pay me."  
"Well, okay," said the shopkeeper dubiously. "But if there's anything I can do-"  
"Just- look, they may be back. Don't stick your neck out." Shaking off the other businessmammals trying to thank him, Hunter walked away.  
Tavi scampered to keep up with him. He slowed his pace a bit so she could stay with him.  
"We have to help them," she said after a moment.  
"Why?"  
"Because we're the police, Hunter! It's what we do!"  
"You may be, Tavi, but in case you didn't notice, I'm suspended. I've still got almost half a year before I can do anything for them." He looked down at her sharply. "And it's way too much of a mess for you to stick your nose in, so don't even think about it."  
"But-"  
"I'm not a cop right now, Tavi." He glanced back at the shopkeepers, who were huddled in a silent mass watching them go. "I'm just a guy trying to get by. Not my circus, not my monkeys."  
"Monkeys?"  
"Never mind."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick answered his phone. "Finnick?"  
"Yo, Nick, you need to talk to your friend."  
"What friend?"  
"You don't have that many anymore, Nick. Hunter. He's gone and put himself right in the frying pan."  
Nick sighed. "What'd he do now?"  
"You ever hear of a gang called the Chargers?"  
Nick tilted his head back, thinking. "Small time family gang, right? Rhinos? What about them?"  
"Not so small time now, Nicky. They hooked up with Mr. Big, run the rackets around Mouston."  
"Oh, really? So what's that got to do with Hunter?"  
"He shook down one of their enforcers in broad daylight."  
There was a pause. "What?"  
Finnick's voice was smug. "Gotta admire his guts. Can't say as much for his brains. Yeah, he lost a cut of his pay from that construction gig I set up for him, and instead of being smart, he got clever."  
"You didn't bother to warn him?" said Nick, annoyed.  
"Oh, I tried. Figured he pick up what I was laying down. Anyway, you know how Mr. Big's organization treats someone who humiliates one of their mammals like that."  
Nick thought about an icy river running under a mansion in Tundratown. "Yeah. Well, thanks for the heads-up."  
"I'm going to lay low for a while. Think you oughta do the same," said Finnick. "Maybe get out of town for a bit."  
"Actually was kinda planning on it already..."  
"Then take that crazy human mammal with you."  
"Um, that's not really on the cards-"  
"Whatever. I gotta go." There was a click as Finnick hung up.

Nick drummed his fingers on the table in front of him.  
He was already nervous about meeting Judy's parents, and while he liked Hunter, he had to admit the man was an acquired taste. He tried to imagine Hunter meeting a bunch of country bunnies, and his mind threw up an "Error" message and shut down.  
Of course, he got the same message when he thought of himself meeting the Hopps.  
On second thought...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note about the "monkeys?" comment- I read that the film's makers didn't include primate mammals because they were too human-like. Since a lot of the fun for me in this has been trying to write a consistent back-story that accounts for the various setting elements in interesting ways, I decided to run with this. I plan to go further into whatever made sentience in mammals occur in more detail later, quite possibly in the next major story arc (though I'm still working that one out). 
> 
> Once again, Erinnyes01 has been incredibly helpful in editing and even suggesting some wording changes. The joke about how Judy "subtly" let Hunter know about his error involving the concrete and the carpet was completely Erinnyes01's work, and I thought it was quite clever. It also dovetailed nicely with one of the themes of the piece, so that's even better. Thanks again!
> 
> Oh, and playing fetch with the tank is probably one of my favorite parts in this whole story-line.


	3. Chapter 3

Judy walked in the apartment carrying some groceries to find a very pensive fox sitting at the table. She set the bags down, the thump startling him. He looked at her and gave her a smile. "Hey, Fluff."

"Hey, Nick." She eyed him suspiciously as she started to unload the groceries into the fridge. She'd been around him long enough to read him pretty well, and currently he had the contained and careful look that meant he had some sort of plan. "You looked thoughtful."

"Well, I got a call from Finnick."

She frowned at him. "Okay." A thought struck her. "He's not trying to rope you into some scheme again, is he?"

The fox waved away the suggestion as he started to help her with the groceries. "No, no. It seems Hunter may have done something crazy."

Judy relaxed. "Oh, is that all? How crazy on a scale of one to purple?"

"Um, maybe a light chartreuse."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe we should come up with a clearer scale. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it seems he shook down a mobster in broad daylight."

She paused as she was putting a bag of carrots into the refrigerator. "He what?"

"They apparently took some of the money he was making- part of a protection racket thing."

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers. How bad is it?"

"Well, the guy he shook down is part of a gang that works for Mr. Big's organization."

She covered her eyes with her paw. "Just once, I'd like for things to be normal." She shook her head. "Maybe I can talk to Mr. Big, get it sorted out-"

"I dunno. Sounds like they're pretty mad at him. As in, even if Mr. Big is willing to let it go- which I kinda doubt- the gang itself will still go after him. Finnick says he ought to leave town for awhile."

"Leave town? He doesn't have any money or anywhere to go! The only mammals he really knows well are us and Tavi, and her family lives in the city."

Nick carefully avoided her eyes. "Well, I mean, we are going out of town-"

"What?" Judy turned to stare at him. "You're not seriously suggesting he goes with us?"

"Well, why not? He doesn't have to be around all the time or anything. He can go see the sights or something."

Judy grimaced. "Look, I don't know what you expect from Bunnyburrow, but we're not exactly a major tourist destination."

Nick spread his paws helplessly. "I don't know what else to do."

Judy looked at him suspiciously. "You're not being entirely honest with me."

"What?" Nick's ears went back.

"You want him to go with us."

"Well, yeah-"

"No," said Judy, advancing on him, "not just as a way to get him out of town. You have some sort of plan."

Nick's eyes widened. "Oh, come on, Carrots, it's not like I arranged for him to tick off the biggest criminal organization in the city."

"Oh, really? Maybe he learned that knack from you."

"You're never going to let me live down the skunk rug thing, are you?"

With a sigh, Judy sat down, thinking. "Can you imagine how my parents will react to Hunter? I know him and still sometimes think he's nuts."

"Actually, the more you get to know him, the more you realize he really  _ is _ nuts."

"Not helping, Nick."

The fox sighed and sat down next to her. "He'll be fine. We'll keep him busy somehow. I mean, how much trouble can he get into?"

The door opened and Hunter walked in, noticing them immediately. "Oh, hey. If you guys want to say hi to Tavi, better hurry. The apartment manager isn't happy about her parking the tank in the parking lot so she's got to get going." He walked past towards his room.

"Parking the tank?" said Nick and Judy simultaneously.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Hunter frowned at his friends. "So Mr. Big's entire organization will be after me?"

Nick shrugged. "Maybe just the Chargers. Carrots will try to put in a good word for you with Mr. Big, but-"

"Yeah, independent contractors gonna be independent." He thought it over. "Well, not much I can do about it now. An apology probably won't go too far."

"Well, it's probably best for you to leave town for a while," said Nick.

Tavi, who had finally gotten Shepherd to go "home" to the station, nodded. "I can't follow you around with the tank forever. We get too many weird looks."

Hunter looked at her. "Did you call the Organized Crime Unit like I asked?"

"Yeah," she said. An irritated expression crossed her face. "They were pretty condescending. I doubt they're going to go to much trouble."

Hunter patted her sympathetically. "Don't think a rookie has anything useful to say, huh?"

She sighed. "You'd think having a pet tank would make them more likely to listen."

"It would for me," muttered Nick.

Tavi grinned. "Relax, Nick, Shepherd would never hurt you." She paused. "Unless he perceives you as a threat to me." Another pause. "Or I give him a direct command."

Nick frowned at her. "Which you would never do."

She nodded, an impish smile on her face. "Right, right."

Nick eyed her suspiciously.

"So anyway," said Hunter, "I guess I need to find somewhere to go. Any ideas?"

Nick looked at Judy. After a long moment, the bunny sighed. "Well, Nick and I were going to visit Bunnyburrow..."

"Right, but where should I- now wait a minute."

"It'll be fine, Hunter," said Nick urgently. "It's out in the country-" he gave a vague wave in a direction that was, as it happened, almost the exact opposite of the direction of Judy's home "-with lots of great things- clean air, fresh food, and uh..." his imagination failed him.

"My family," said Judy, frowning at him.

"Yes! So anyone that isn't a bunny will stand out! If they come looking for you, then we'll know right away!" With a satisfied smile, Nick sat back.

Hunter gave him a level look. "Anyone that isn't a rabbit will stand out?"

"Right!"

The human pointed at his chest with a thumb. "Do I look like a bunny, Nick?"

"Well, no. On the other paw, it's not like there's anywhere on Terra you can blend in."

Hunter cocked his head, thinking. "It occurs to me that you aren't a bunny, Nick."

The fox raised an eyebrow. "Wow, Zach, how long did it take you to work that out?"

"And so you being there will result in a lot of attention." Judy suddenly began looking thoughtful as Hunter continued. "And so if there's an even bigger mammal that's out of place, maybe some of that attention will be on me, and not on you."

Nick squirmed uncomfortably as Judy and Hunter both looked at him. "Well, hey, that's a good point, now that you mention it-"

Judy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Nick, it's not that big a deal. You don't have to come up with a cunning plan for everything, you know."

"That's what I do," said Hunter.

"That's true. Hey, Hunter, how long is left on your suspension?" said Judy, with a slight touch of asperity.

Hunter paused. "Okay, point taken."

"Well, if Hunter is going, maybe I should go too," said Tavi.

They all turned to look at her. Nick and Judy shared a glance. They still weren't sure what to make of the nature of Tavi's...friendship...with Hunter. Whether she hero-worshipped him, viewed him as a mentor, or had some other inclination was the cause of rampant speculation at the station. "Why?" asked Judy carefully.

"Because I still have a lot of leave until they decide to let me go back to work. Because you guys are my friends. And mostly because Hunter needs someone around to keep him out of trouble."

"Hey!" protested Hunter. "You're the rookie! I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble, not the other way around!"

"Wow, that ship hasn't just sailed, it's sunk with all hands," said Nick.

Hunter frowned at him. "You know, most of the time my cunning plans work." He looked back down at Tavi. "Besides, who says I'm going?"

There was a knock at the window. The third floor window.

Everyone turned to look.

Shepherd the tank hovered outside the window. "Apologies, Commander, I know I was supposed to return to base, but this being was tampering with Officer Hunter's vehicle." The tank's manipulating arm rose into view, holding a terrified rhinoceros, the mammal's eyes bugged as he stared fixedly at the ground below. "I believe he was trying to affix an explosive device to the undercarriage."

They all looked to Hunter. He sighed.

"Fine. When do we leave?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short chapter- I'll try and post the next one soon. Still working out some things- it's moving along, but I'm revising the plot as I go in some ways. Means I don't want to post too much- I may go back and change bits here and there.


	4. Chapter 4

"So let me get this straight," said Alfie Charger, the patriarch and current head of the Chargers gang. "You got rolled by a human and a mongoose in broad daylight."

"And a tank!" protested Raymond. "They treated me like a super-spy's martini!"

There were blank looks, which he found disappointing. He had worked on that one all day. "You know, shaken, not stir-"

Standing in one corner of the office, there was a cough from a slightly built, well-dressed wallaby. "I think we understand the joke, Raymond."

The rhinos in the room all looked at him- some with veiled hostility, though all with some degree of respect. The wallaby was Petro Gale, Mr. Big's consigliere. It would not do to annoy him, though some of the gang had a not-so-secret desire to not be under Big's tiny thumb. Gale continued.

"The organization cannot stand to be shown this level of disrespect in public, gentlemammals. At the same time, we find ourselves in the position of angering not only the police, but possibly many others if we punish Hunter- he is something of a hero."

"It's a dilemma," said Raymond, who had heard the word recently and thought he'd try it out.

Gale glanced at him. "Indeed." He narrowed his eyes. "One you put us in, Raymond."

The rhino quailed at the wallaby's measuring look. "How was I supposed to know-"

"You're supposed to know everything about your territory, Raymond!" shouted Alfie, slamming a massive fist onto his desk. Everyone except the supremely self-confident Gale jumped at the sudden display of anger. "You should never have shaken down Hunter in the first place!"

"What's done is done. I leave the internal discipline of your organization to you, Mr. Charger," said Gale smoothly to Alfie. "Naturally, we are willing to help you with this- dilemma."

Alfie hesitated. "Of course. I count Mr. Big as one of my greatest friends."

"Yes, of course. And friends help one another, as my employer likes to say." Gale leaned forward. "We'll solve this little problem for you. In return, well-" he spread his paws. "As you say. Friends help one another."

Alfie bowed his head. "I'm always ready to help the organization."

Raymond shuddered as Alfie looked at him. "Everyone leave except for Raymond and Mr. Gale."

The rest of the rhinos filed out, most shooting Raymond speculative looks as he squirmed nervously on his chair.

When the door shut behind the last of them, Alfie spoke. "You need to make this right, Raymond."

"Yes, dad," he replied eagerly. Then he paused. "Um, how?"

Gale sighed. "How do you think? Kill Hunter."

"But I thought you said if we did that, we'd get the ZPD on our tails."

"Not if they don't know for sure we did it." Alfie glared at his son. "So you need to be smart about it, and we can't give you any direct help."

"I have to do it alone?"

"We're going to give you the number to a few friends of ours," said Gale. "They are discreet, efficient, and very well connected."

Raymond considered that. "You know he has a tank."

"It doesn't follow him around all the time. Besides, they have ways to deal with that, too." Gale cocked his head, considering the young rhino. "Are you not up to it?"

Raymond shook his head vigorously, then reconsidered and started nodding equally vigorously. "No, sir- I mean, yes, sir, I can do it."

"Good. Then get to it. Oh, and don't harm Ms. Hopps. The boss has a soft spot for her."

"What about the fox or the mongoose?"

Gale waved a paw negligently. "They aren't targets, but if they get in the way- well, they should have chosen better friends."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

After Raymond left, Alfie stared pensively at the seat where he had been sitting. "He's my son."

"And you are like a son to Mr. Big," said Gale soothingly. "But it must be this way."

"I don't see Mr. Big having his children killed."

"You'd be surprised. The family comes first, of course, and we think of you as family. But what do you do if the family turns against itself?" Gale stood up, looking steadily into the rhino's eyes. "It's a terrible thing, for a family to fall apart like that."

After a long moment, Alfie looked away. "Maybe he could just, I don't know, go away somwhere after it's done."

"Hunter is strange, but he's not some corrupt cop that ZPD will shrug away as getting what he had coming to him. They'll need their vengeance- or a body." Gale gave a sorrowful shake of his head. "Too many things are going on, Mr. Charger. The humans coming back. The appearance of guns in large numbers on the streets. The possibility of _war_. We wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't necessary."

Alfie glared at him. "Ask me? You're asking me?"

Gale smiled slightly, but said nothing. He nodded respectfully and hopped down from his chair. "Until next time, Mr. Charger."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

The train sped along, the windows displaying a remarkable view of Zootopia- the verdant greenery of the Rainforest District, the massive glaciers of Tundratown, and the glittering modernist skyscrapers comprising much of the downtown area.

Tavi stood on her seat, entranced. "I've never seen the city like this before, and I grew up here!"

Hunter cracked open an eye. "Cities are all the same. Shiny on the outside, all grime and grit when you get close."

She gave him an annoyed glance. "Why are you so cynical all the time?"

"Practice."

"You know, a cynic is someone who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing."

"So a cynic would win big in _The Price is Right?_ "

Tavi frowned. "The show that used to be hosted by the wolf that's always in those vasectomy clinic commercials?" A thought struck her. "Hey, isn't his name Bob Barker? Is he any relation to Ruth?"

"No. And don't ask her that, she gets annoyed."

"How do you know?"

"Never mind."

The sliding door of the compartment opened and Judy's head appeared. "There you are!"

Hunter frowned at her. "Yes, in our compartment. Who would have guessed?"

Judy's smile wavered, just slightly. "You're in a good mood."

"I am trying to sleep." He leaned back and closed his eyes, shutting the other two out.

Judy opened her mouth as if to say something, but then looked at Tavi. "Hey, Anila, can I borrow you for a minute?"

Outside the compartment, Judy rounded on the mongoose. "You have to help me."

Confused, Tavi nodded. "Sure, anything. What's wrong?"

"I need to tell Hunter to- you know, tone it down a bit for my parents. They have a lot to get used to, and if he's being, um..."

"Hunter?" suggested Tavi helpfully.

"Yes- if he's being Hunter around them, I'm afraid they'll think all of my friends are-" she stopped again, at another loss for words.

"Hunteresque?" said Tavi.

Judy closed her eyes. "Let's hope that's never a real word." She opened them again, looked at Tavi. "Do you think you can talk to him a bit? I mean, if I said it he might think I was being overly critical and not trusting him. But if you can sort of hint around it, he might just think you're trying to help me out."

Tavi considered this. "Which I would be."

"Right!"

"Do you think he'll listen to me?"

There was a pause. "Sure," said Judy with forced confidence.

Tavi eyed her, but shrugged. "What should I say?"

"Well, maybe warn him against certain topics, maybe not joke about things, maybe not mention the really dangerous situations we've been in, maybe-"

"Hang on, I should probably write this down," said Tavi, patting her pockets for a pen and notebook.

"Oh, I already did." Judy pulled out two closely written pages and handed it to her. "Here."

Tavi gingerly took the pages and glanced over them. "Dietary habits from Alphacen?" she read. She looked at Judy questioningly.

"Humans eat meat, you know. He's usually pretty good about not mentioning it, but just in case."

"The dropbear incident?" Tavi raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What dropbear incident?"

"Oh, that was before your time-"

"And what's a dropbear?"

"It's a bear that drops from a height on unsuspecting passersby."

"What? I've never heard of such a thing."

"Search 'koala bandit' on the police database when you get back home," suggested Judy, exasperated. "If you really want to know."  
Tavi frowned. "Do I?"

"No."

Folding up the papers, Tavi tucked it into her pocket. "Okay, fine. I'll see what I can do." She looked around. "Where's Nick?"

Judy stared. "Oh, cheese and crackers. I forgot about Nick."

"What do you mean, forgot about him?"

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"So how long have you and my daughter been in a relationship, exactly?" asked Stuart suspiciously over the phone.

Nick covered his paws with his eyes. Judy had hurriedly handed the phone over to him in mid-conversation, and told him he would just have to speak with her parents for a couple of minutes.

That had been nearly ten minutes ago.

"Oh, well, it depends on what you mean by relationship, exactly- I mean, we've been partners for a couple of years."

He heard Judy's mother Bonnie mutter something shocked in the background and winced. "I mean police partners, of course. We didn't become 'partners' until later."

"How much later?"

"It would have been just after the bomb on the train incident, when- hello?"

There had been a shocked gasp and then a clatter. After a few fumbles, Stuart's voice, considerably less calm, came back on the line. "Bomb on the train?"

"Uh-"

"Jude never mentioned a bomb on a train!" said Stuart, his voice rising slightly.

"Oh, so- can't- hear- going through- tunnel," said Nick, rubbing his paw over the mouthpiece. "Call- back."

He tapped the "End Call" button and sat back in his seat with a sigh.

The phone immediately started ringing. He turned it off.

"You can't just ignore them forever, you know," said a voice.

He turned. "Hey, Carrots. I thought you'd just be a few minutes," he said, his tone faintly accusatory.

"Sorry. I was trying to find a way to tell Hunter not to be crazy."

Nick nodded. "Okay, yeah, I can see why that would take a while."

She hopped onto the seat next to him and snuggled close. "Anyway, what I was saying was that you can't just keep putting off talking to my folks."

Nick put his arm around her but leaned back, his eyes on the ceiling. "No, but I kinda want you around with me when I do have to start answering these difficult questions."

"They'll probably get you alone at some point," she said. At his annoyed look, she sighed. "I'll try to minimize the time they have to give you the third degree, but you have to be prepared. I'm sorry."

Nick sighed. "Well, it actually did go okay up until I mentioned the bomb that blew up the train-"

"You told them about the bomb?"

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Stuart Hopps glared at the phone. "Still no answer."

"Well, maybe it's just a bad connection," said Bonnie, her tone unconvinced.

"He said tunnel, Bonnie. There aren't any tunnels between here and Zootopia by train." Stuart shook his head. "Typical fox-"

"Stuart!"

"I'm just saying-" began Stuart, his ears lying back.

"You get along just fine with Gideon!"

"He's a country fox! He's basically just one of us!" said Stuart. "But city foxes-"

Bonnie glared at her husband, and he glanced away. "He's probably just nervous, Stu. Let the boy have some time to get used to us."

"He should have had time already," said Stuart doggedly, avoiding his wife's eyes. "And why didn't Judy tell us about this?"

"Well..."

Decisively, Stuart began punching in another number into the phone. "I think we should be on the safe side here."

"Who are you calling?"

"Andy. He can meet up with us at the train station."

"Stuart, you're overreacting."

"It's our daughter, Bonnie. Better safe than sorry." The phone rang, and then there was a click as someone answered.  
"Sheriff's office."

"Hey, Sheriff? It's Stuart. Look, I wonder if you could do us a little favor..."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Tavi cleared her throat.

Hunter let out a snore.

Tavi coughed. When there was no response, she coughed louder. Finally, she jumped up onto the seat next to Hunter and poked him. "Are you asleep?"

He shifted slightly, but showed no other signs of being awake.

She poked him again. "Hey, Hunter, you awake? Zach? Are you asleep?" She nearly shouted the last question.

Hunter cracked an eye open. "What is it, rookie?"

"I was just seeing if you were asleep."

"Yes." He settled himself and closed his eyes again.

"Because I thought we should talk about something."

Hunter opened his eyes and sighed as he looked down at her. "Are you going to let me sleep if I don't talk to you?"

"Nope."

"Fine. What's on your mind?"

"Well, I was just thinking- Judy's under a lot of stress."

Hunter nodded with ill-concealed impatience. "Yep."

"And I think she's a little nervous about her parents meeting us." Tavi flicked her tail nervously as Hunter regarded her for a moment.

"You mean me," he said, eventually.

"No! Well, yes- and everyone else. Nick, and me, and you. So yes, you, but also others, including, um-"

Hunter held up a hand to stop her. "Let me guess. She wants me to tone it down a bit."

"Um, well, I don't really know if she wants to, exactly."

"So this was your idea," said Hunter flatly.

"Uh-"

"Do you know when you try to lie your ears lay back and your tail twitches?" She grabbed her tail nervously as he continued. "Maybe I should have become a professional gambler," he said thoughtfully. "Terran mammals have all kinds of tells."

"Look, yes, she did sort of ask me to ask you."

Hunter sighed. "Fine, fine. Anything in particular I should avoid?"

Tavi held up two pages of notebook paper. "Actually, she made this list!" said the mongoose brightly.

Hunter stared at her. He looked from her face to the list, then took it from her. He read it, his face darkening.

"The dropbear incident? What am I, five? I know better than to bring that up in polite conversation. I don't even talk to other cops about that, not since that Vice detective nearly lost his lunch."

"Um."

"Who the hell does she think she is, my mother?" He continued reading, his expression becoming grimmer and grimmer.

Slowly, Tavi began to realize she may have made a mistake.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Nick stared at Judy in astonishment. "How could they not have known about the train with the bomb on it? We got an award for that! They were at the ceremony!"

Judy was pacing back and forth in frustration. "The exact details were classified because of the diplomatic stuff!"

"But- you didn't tell them?"

"They worry too much already! What am I supposed to do, say, 'Oh, by the way, mom, I nearly got blown up and then was kidnapped and threatened with death by a psychotic bureaucrat!'"

Nick shook his head. "Well, no, but- they didn't ask or guess why we got that award?"

"No! They didn't ask. I think they hoped I did some particularly heroic filing or something."

The fox hopped down from his seat. "Carrots, I know you're trying to protect them from being worried, but you kind of need to tell them about this sort of thing."

She rounded on him, one paw gripping her ear angrily. "Why? They didn't want to know!"

"Yeah, but- I mean, better to find out from you then-" he stopped.

"Better to find out from me than you, Nick?" she snapped. "Is that what you were going to say?"

"I didn't know they didn't know!"

"You didn't ask me!"

Nick's eyes widened, as his initial bewilderment gave way to anger. "How was I supposed to know that I was supposed to ask you? Carrots, you're not making any sense." He glared down at her. "And besides, if you hadn't just handed me the phone to go run around, I wouldn't have been in that position in the first place!"

She stabbed a finger at him. "You just don't want to talk to them at all, Nick! They're my family, and I love them. If you want me, you're going to have to deal with them, too."

"Oh?" shouted Nick. "And what if they're not willing to deal with me? Is that going to be it for us?"

Judy stared at him, her eyes wide. He winced inwardly as he saw the unshed tears in her eyes, his heart skipping a beat.

Nick hesitated.

Before he could decide what to do, she turned and walked out of the compartment.

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Raymond eyed the mysterious mammals- who had introduced themselves only as "the cleaners"- nervously. "So, um, you work for Mr. Big?" he asked.

The mammal stroked his whiskers. " _With_ Mr. Big," he said with a slight, supercilious accent. "We are, how do you say, independent contractors?"

The rhino nodded vigorously. "Yep, that's how you say it."

The "cleaner" rolled his eyes. "You have the location of the target?"

Raymond nodded again. "Yeah, I called my cousin Oscar, who called his buddy Tony, who called McHorn who works at ZPD, and-"

"You have the location?" interrupted the hitmammal, polishing his claws on the front of his shirt with a bored look. "That's all we need to know."

"Yeah. He went to Bunnyburrow."

"Bunnyburrow?" said the mammal in surprise. "How strange."

"Well, Hopps is from there, I think- that's what the papers say-" after his mistake with Hunter, Raymond had gained a new appreciation for the value of current events- "-so he probably went there to lay low with her family."

"Well, this contract should be quite easy," said the cleaner. "It is a small town, little crime. They will not be looking for us." He grinned. "Of course, so few mammals are."

The other cleaners laughed.

Raymond chuckled along with them, though unconvincingly. "Though there are likely to be a bunch of bunnies around. You know how they are."

The hitmammal shrugged. "It is, how do you say?" He paused, then smiled, showing sharp, predatory teeth.

"Collateral damage."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, Judy is acting a little irrational and perhaps a bit out-of-character. Remember, she's under a hell of a lot of stress- not only Nick meeting her parents, but all the events of Hunter and Hunted. Don't worry, she'll come around eventually.
> 
> While Stu is less paranoid about foxes, it made sense to me that he might view "city foxes" as different than Gideon- this is a sadly common way people change their prejudices, by making exceptions, changing the terms, and only gradually realizing that the entire stereotype is wrong. Also it's a useful source of conflict, which is needed for an interesting story.
> 
> Apologies for how long this is taking me. Work should lighten up a bit soon, and hopefully I'll be able to work more quickly.


	5. Chapter 5

As the train pulled into the station, Stuart Hopps watched the doors carefully.

 

The usual batch of mammals came out first- mostly bunnies who had decided to take a quick trip to the city. A few were in business clothing, but most wore the casual clothing of tourists. They hopped off the train, joking and reminiscing over whatever they had been doing in the city.

 

Most of them seemed to be talking about clubs, bars, and other things that made Stuart shift uncomfortably. Sure, he and Bonnie had their wild days, but the thought of Judy going to the city- but surely being a police officer kept her out of that sort of mess.

 

Then they saw her.

 

She was wearing a light blue shirt and jeans, her ears laid back forlornly.

 

"She doesn't look happy," murmured Bonnie worriedly.

 

"Long trip," said Stuart, though he knew it was something else.

 

Fortunately, when she saw them, her eyes lit up. "Mom! Dad!" The bunny rushed to meet them, pulling them both into a hug. "I've missed you!"

 

"Hey, Jude the dude!" Stuart hugged her back, hard. All the worry they'd had- including, most recently, over what the damned fox had said- went out as he squeezed her and Bonnie. "It's good to see you back!"

 

Bonnie pulled back and inspected her critically. "What happened here?" she asked softly, tracing a light scar on Judy's neck.

 

"It's nothing- just scratched it at work," said Judy hurriedly. She glanced back at the train. "Hey, Tavi!"

 

A small gray mongoose flashed a smile as she scampered up. "Hello! You must be Judy's parents. My name's Anila!"

 

They shook paws. "So you work with Judy at ZPD?" said Stuart, eyeing her. "What's it like?"

 

"Oh, you know- writing tickets, doing paperwork mostly," said Tavi.

 

"Is that all you do?" asked Bonnie suspiciously.

 

"Um." She surreptitiously glanced at a piece of notebook paper in her paw. "Mostly."

 

"Sure, but there was that whole Night Howler thing-"

 

Tavi was starting to look a bit wide-eyed. "Oh, that was before I came on."

 

"And everybody heard about the Raid a month or two ago, that big shoot-out with the humans," continued Bonnie.

 

"Mom!" Judy shot Tavi a warning look. "We can talk about that later."

 

Stuart and his wife traded a look, both feeling a bit ashamed. It was just that, well, Judy didn't talk so much about work. Maybe before it had been because she didn't enjoy it and felt underappreciated, but now-

 

"Sorry, Tavi. Welcome to Bunnyburrow."

 

The mongoose looked relieved. "Thanks, Mrs. Hopps."

 

"Oh, just call me Bonnie. And this is Stuart."

 

Her husband was already watching the train's door again. "So where is your- where's Nick?"

 

Judy's ears went back, and this time Stuart saw suppressed anger. "He's coming," she said tightly.

 

Both her parents studied her. "Is everything okay?" asked Stuart, his voice taking on an unaccustomed edge.

 

"Yes, it's fine," she said, her voice controlled. She glanced back. "There he is now. And Hunter," she added, a faint note of trepidation in her tone.

 

Stuart's eyes widened as he took in the pair of mammals.

 

The fox was not entirely unexpected- he'd seen plenty of foxes in his time, though this one was far slimmer than Gideon. Dressed casually in slacks and an untucked shirt, his eyes hidden by sunglasses, Nick looked to Stuart more or less like he envisioned him. A smooth-talking city fox.

 

The human was something else.

 

He'd never seen a human in real life before, like the vast majority of Terrans. Towering over the smaller mammals, the human moved with the lithe grace of a predator, though tempered with the sort of care you see when a larger mammal finds himself in a crowd of smaller ones. It was easy to accidentally trample someone if you weren't watching.

 

Hunter walked up and smiled, extending a paw to Stuart. "You'd be Judy's parents, I gather."

 

Stuart shook his paw. "That's right. You're Zacharias Hunter."

 

"I go by Zach, usually."

 

"So, hey, Hunter," said Judy brightly. "Did Tavi have a chance to talk to you?"

 

The human turned to look down at her. "Yes. I got your list."

 

Judy's eyes widened and she whipped around to glare at Tavi. "You gave him the list?" she hissed.

 

"I thought it'd be easier!" said Tavi desperately.

 

Bonnie looked between the two of them, confused. "What list?"

 

"Oh, nothing important," said Hunter airily. He looked around. "So this is Bunnyburrow, huh? Seems nice."

 

"Yes, it's a good place to farm," said Stuart, noticing Bonnie still frowning at Judy. "Is that what brought you out here? Thinking about retirement?"

 

"Oh, no, I'm on the run from the mob. Shook down one of their enforcers."

 

There was an awkward silence.

 

"Ha, ha," said Judy in a choked voice. "Oh, he's such a joker." She glared daggers at Hunter. "Ixnay on the obstersmay!"

 

Nick glanced at her, then, visibly steeling himself, stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Nick."

 

He instantly became the focus of attention for the two older bunnies. "We spoke to you on the phone," said Bonnie neutrally.

 

"Until you went through a tunnel," added Stuart, his voice also flat.

 

"Um, yeah, I guess maybe the reception wasn't so good-"

 

"I didn't know there were any tunnels along the way from here to Zootopia. Pretty smooth terrain, really." Stuart didn't notice Judy's glare.

 

There was a pause as Nick tried to think of something to say, wilting visibly under the stares of Bonnie and Stuart.

 

"Wow, is it just me, or is it kind of cold here all of a sudden?" said Hunter cheerfully. "Why don't we head to the house?" He made ushering motions with his hands, breaking up the awkward silence. The group slowly started heading towards the station's exit, though he noted how many of them were shooting one another significant looks. There was far more being said in the silence than anyone could say openly.

 

He noted one from Judy, who fell back slightly to talk to him. "Well, thanks for moving things along, at least," she said quietly.

 

"Don't thank me yet," he growled. He hastened his stride to catch up to Bonnie and Stuart. "Hey, have either of you ever heard of a dropbear? Interesting story..."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Judy was trying frantically to think of a plausible way to interrupt Hunter when they stepped outside the station to find a beat-up squad car in front of it. A goat and a hare, both wearing brown sheriff's department uniforms, stood nearby. She recognized the goat immediately. "Sheriff?"

 

The goat smiled broadly. "Judy Hopps! Hadn't seen you in ages!" He walked over and extended his paw. She took it, also smiling. "Heard you were coming to town again, and thought I'd drop by. Been hearing a lot about you from the papers."

 

"It's good to see you, sheriff. These are some of my friends from ZPD- Anila Tavi, Zach Hunter, and Nick Wilde."

 

The goat nodded at them. "Sheriff Andy Gruff. This here's my deputy, Barney Fluff."

 

The hare snapped to a parody of attention. "Just joined the department," he said proudly.

 

Hunter cocked his head. "Thought bunnies didn't usually become cops."

 

"Figured if the folks in the big city could do it, so could I," said Gruff. "You'd be the human, I take it?"

 

"Yep." He shook the sheriff's paw. "What's it like, policing out here?"

 

"Quiet, mostly."

 

"Too quiet," muttered Fluff.

 

Hunter shook his head. "No such thing."

 

Nick was frowning at the sheriff, though he plastered on a smile when the goat's head turned towards him. "So you knew Judy?" he said, somewhat lamely.

 

Gruff nodded, looking Nick over speculatively. "Since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. Used to pester me with questions all the time," he said, smiling at her.

 

"Remember when you came to Woodlands Elementary?" she said. "I brought you for show and tell."

 

He grinned. "Yep. I was just glad you didn't put me in a box with air holes like some of the other students did with their exhibits. Weirdest insects I'd ever seen."

 

"The students or the exhibits?" asked Nick.

 

Everyone turned to stare at him. He chuckled nervously. "It's a joke."

 

The deputy, Fluff, narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm watching you, fox."

 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned Hunter. "He's pretty boring most of the time."

 

The deputy looked at the human sharply. "Most of the time?"

 

"Easy, Barney, he hasn't done anything wrong," said Gruff, a long-suffering tone to his admonition. "He's a cop just like us."

 

The bunny deputy eyed the sheriff doubtfully. "Just like us?"

 

"So, Mr. Hunter," broke in Bonnie with false cheer. "I'm afraid we probably won't have room for you in the pick-up, so would you mind riding in the back?"

 

He looked at the pickup doubtfully. "Is that legal?"

 

The sheriff shrugged. "Probably."

 

"Probably?"

 

"Pretty sure."

"Oh, good." Hunter shrugged. "Suits me."

 

As they started toward the pickup, the sheriff called out to Judy. "Oh, the show and tell thing reminded me. Principal Harington wanted to see if you and your fellow officers would do a little presentation at the school. Lot of children interested in policing, what with your success and all."

 

Judy hesitated. "I don't know, sheriff..."

 

"Sounds great!" said Tavi enthusiastically. "I love children!"

 

"Sure," agreed Hunter. "When is it?"

 

His friends all turned to stare at him. "What?" he asked, annoyed. "Might be fun."

 

Nick and Judy exchanged looks. "Okay," said Judy slowly. "Sure."

 

"Be there tomorrow at noon. I'll see you there. Stuart, Bonnie." He nodded to them. "Glad to meet you, Mr. Hunter, Ms. Tavi, Mr. Wilde."

 

As they got into the patrol car, the deputy pointed at his eyes with two fingers, then at Wilde, then at his eyes again. Since he wasn't watching what he was doing, he caught his duty belt on the door and spent a few moments swearing as he tried to free himself. After finally getting into the car, he pointed two fingers at Wilde again, but had his paw slapped down by the annoyed sheriff before he could repeat the "I'm watching you" motion.

 

They watched them go.

 

"So does the sheriff meet with everyone who comes into town?" asked Nick suspiciously.

 

"Well, Judy is a bit of a local hero," said Stuart quickly.

 

The fox narrowed his eyes at him, then turned away. "Hey, I think I'll ride in the back, keep Zach company."

 

Hunter glanced at him. "You sure?"

 

"Yeah, I have a feeling it might get a bit crowded otherwise," said Nick.

 

"Nick-" began Judy.

 

"It's fine, Carrots. Let's go." He hefted his bag and tossed it into the bed of the pickup.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"So that's Nick," said Bonnie.

 

Tavi glanced at her as she settled into the back seat, then at Judy, who had a fixed expression on her face. "That's him," she said neutrally.

 

"Everything okay between you two?" asked Stuart.

 

Tavi winced- even she picked up the hopeful tone in his voice.

 

"We're okay," said Judy, her voice still calm.

 

"And Mr. Hunter seems to be, um, interesting."

 

"Yes," said Judy, closing her eyes. "He is."

 

There was a silence as Stuart started the engine and put the truck into gear.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Hunter stared at his friend, who slouched uncomfortably against the side of the pick-up's bed. He sighed. "All right, what's wrong?"

 

Nick shook his head. "Nothing's wrong."

 

"Oh, good." Hunter settled into position and started looking around as the truck started moving.

 

"It's just that Judy and I had an argument."

 

Hunter sighed. Nick appeared not to notice.

 

"I'm really worried about this, Zach. If her family doesn't like me- and I'm starting on the back paw here- I'm worried that she won't- that she'll feel like she has to choose between me and them."

 

"Well," said Hunter, "You'll just have to win them over. You know, be charming, polite, considerate-"

 

"So just be myself?"

 

"That's the exact opposite of what I was saying."

 

"Very funny, Hunter." Nick cupped his face in his paws, thinking. "Maybe I could focus on sharing mutual interests with them. That usually works."

 

Hunter frowned. "What are those interests?"

 

"Well, um- huh." Nick scratched his head, then snapped his fingers. "Stuart likes golf! I'll play golf with him!"

 

"You know how to play golf?" asked Hunter, surprised.

 

"No. Can't be that hard, though. You hit a ball with a stick."

 

"I feel like there may be a bit more nuance to it than that."

 

Nick shrugged. "I don't have to be good at it. Just play a round with him." He nodded. "Yeah, this is a good plan."

 

"Sure. How could it go-"

 

Nick glared at Hunter. "Do not finish that sentence."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"So tell us about Nick," said Bonnie with a forced smile. "He works with you?"

 

"Yes, has since he joined up a couple of years ago," said Judy, trying to force down her nervousness. "I actually convinced him to join the department. First fox officer, you know."

 

"Oh, really? So you're both the first of your species to become police officers," said Bonnie. There was a slight pause. "Well, well."

 

Tavi, who was sitting in the back next to Judy, cleared her throat. "Hunter's also the first human to be in Zootopian PD, and I'm the first mongoose- oh, and Shepherd is the first tank."

 

Stuart and Bonnie stared at her. Since Stu was driving, this nearly resulted in the truck running off the road.

 

"The first what?" asked Bonnie, somewhat faintly.

 

"Tank- um, he's a robot tank that the department sort of ended up with after the Raid." Judy caught her eye and gave a tiny shake of her head. "But yeah, we all sort of ended up being the first of our kinds to be police. Kind of cool, huh?"

 

"The Raid," muttered Stu pensively.

 

Judy spoke up quickly. "But anyway, we ended up riding together a lot, and I got to know him." She glanced at Nick, who was talking to Hunter. "He's a good mammal, Mom."

 

"I'm sure he is," said Bonnie, a bit too quickly. "So how did you two first meet?"

 

Judy hesitated. "I was working on the Night Howler investigation, and he helped me out."

 

"Oh? Awfully public-spirited of him," said Stu.

 

His daughter frowned at the back of his head. "It was."

 

"What did he do for a living before he joined the police department?" asked Bonnie.

 

Tavi winced.

 

Judy leaned back in her seat and turned her eyes upward to avoid Bonnie's gaze. "He was an entrepreneur."

 

"An entrepreneur," said Bonnie flatly. "Meaning?"

 

"He sold popsicles from a street stand."

 

"Huh." Bonnie and Stuart traded looks.

 

"What?" demanded Judy, who caught their shared glance.

 

Bonnie looked back at her, surprised. "Judy?"

 

"I saw that look. It's true, he sold popsicles. And some other things, but nothing illegal," said Judy, which was technically true- she never said he paid taxes. "He was just a mammal trying to get by."

 

"Now, Judy, it's not that we don't believe you," said Stuart. "It's just that- well, a street peddler? Do you know that's all he did?"

 

Tavi's eyes flicked between Judy and her parents nervously. She shrank back into her seat as Judy's eyes flashed.

 

"Yes, I do!"

 

"How do you know?" asked Bonnie.

 

"Because he told me! I trust him!"

 

Both her parents frowned identically. "Well, sure, but-"

 

Judy leaned forward. "He's saved my life," she said, her voice low, but firm. "And I've saved his. More than once, both ways. I can trust him."

 

Stuart and Bonnie fell silent.

 

Tavi leaned over to Judy, who had sat back down. "Didn't you ask me to not bring up the dangerous stuff we've done?" she whispered to Judy.

 

The bunny frowned at her. "Yeah?"

 

"Well, it's just that telling them Nick saved your life and vice versa- more than once- kind of implies your life needed saving."

 

Judy's eyes widened as she looked at her parents, who were both staring rigidly ahead.

 

"Oh, cheese and crackers," she muttered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Ixnay on the obstersmay"- it's "Pig Latin". Not as common to hear people refer to it today, but look it up if you don't get it.
> 
> Andy Gruff and Barney Fluff- They're a parody/homage of Sheriff Andy Taylor and Barney Fife, of course. I nearly went with "Andy Tailer" but then realized that a Zootopianization of Fife would probably be Fluff...meaning they'd be Gruff and Fluff. Couldn't resist. 
> 
> Things are moving along- I'm about two more chapters ahead, but I'm still re-writing parts. Hopefully I'll be getting both out this week...significantly longer than it usually takes me, I know. Hope you guys will bear with me. I'm not sure how long this will turn out to be- I've got most of it planned, but my mind's been so frazzled recently that it's moving more slowly than I hoped. At a guess, I think it will run about 10-15 chapters, probably closer to 10 then 15. Which is fairly long for what was intended to be a short, but I've got a lot I need to cover. I'm going to be setting up a number of plot points for the next long arc in the story, which I've started to plan out. Tentatively entitled "Hunter's Peace"- that's subject to change, of course.


	6. Chapter 6

The truck pulled up in front of a mound with a door in it.

Hunter eyed the small hillock curiously. "Judy lived here? Seems kinda small."

Nick gave him a look as he hopped out of the truck. "They're bunnies, Hunter. Most of it is underground."

"Oh, right." Hunter glanced around. "That isn't, though." He pointed at a small trailer set up on one side of the yard.

Bonnie, who had gotten out of the truck and come around to check on them, gave him a strained smile. "That's where you'll be staying, Mr. Hunter. I'm afraid our burrow is too small for a mammal of your size, so we borrowed Mr. Bruin's travel trailer."

"He's a bear?"

"Yes. It may smell a bit, um, fishy."

Hunter shrugged. "Sounds like my first apartment. Sounds good, Mrs. Hopps."

"Please, call me Bonnie," she said, almost automatically. She gave Nick another forced smile. "You may want to stay in there as well, Mr. Wilde- bunny burrows can be a bit cramped for mammals of your size."

Judy looked over from where she was helping Tavi down out of the truck. "He'll stay with me, Mom."

A frown flitted across Bonnie's face. "Well, if you're sure- your room is kind of small, isn't it?"

Judy sighed. "It's big enough for us."

Before Bonnie could say anything else, the front door to the burrow flew open and a veritable flood of tiny bunnies poured out.

"Judy!" shouted several as they piled onto her. She nearly disappeared under the wave as she smiled broadly and tried to hug them all at once.

"Hey, guys!" She looked back at her friends. "These are my younger brothers and sisters!" she said, raising her voice above the excited babble.

Hunter raised his eyebrows and looked at Nick, who stared in surprise. Nick looked back at him. "Big family," he said weakly.

Hunter nodded, frowning slightly. "Bother you?"

"What? Why would it?"

Judy had managed to hand out enough hugs that the excitement had abated a bit, and she turned- one paw clasped in that of one of her younger sisters- and gestured with the free paw. "These are my friends, guys. They work at ZPD, too."

The bunnies turned as one to stare at the fox, human, and mongoose. Hunter couldn't help but smile at their sudden concentration. "Whoa," said one, his eyes wide. "Is he a human?"

"Nah," said Hunter, his eyes twinkling. "He's a fox."

"I meant you!"

"Oh! Yep, I'm a human."

"Wow," said the bunny, drawing out the word. Hunter smiled at him.

"Well," said Bonnie, looking a bit more cheerful after seeing Judy reunite with her siblings, "I guess I should get you situated- Mr. Wilde, Ms. Tavi, do you want to grab your luggage?"

The fox and mongoose quickly gathered their things and headed inside with Judy and Bonnie. Stuart waved to Hunter. "I've got to go run a few errands. Nice meeting you, Mr. Hunter."

Hunter nodded back as he got his own belongings off the truck. "Good to meet you."

The truck roared to life and drove away.

Some of Judy's siblings had followed them inside, but several remained outside, staring at Hunter with wide eyes as he moved his luggage to the trailer. He suddenly felt a tug on his pants leg and looked down.

"I'm Bobby!" announced the kit.

"Hi, Bobby. I'm Zach."

"Are you a space alien?"

"No," said Hunter. Then he thought about it. "Kinda," he admitted.

Bobby's eyes grew even wider. "Do you have a ray gun?"

"Um, no. Should I?"

"In the _Adventures of Dan Hare_ , the space aliens always have ray guns." The bunny held up a comic book, which showed a space-suited rabbit having a laser-gun battle with some sort of reptilian monsters. "See?"

Hunter shrugged. "Sorry, not that kind of space alien." He turned to open the door to the trailer.

The next question made him turn around again. "Did you come to ravish our females?"

"Excuse me?"

"Because in the _Adventures of Dan Dare_ , the aliens are always trying to ravish Terran females!"

Hunter's eyes narrowed. "Does your mother know about these comic books?"

Just then, Tavi walked back outside. "Hey, Hunter," she began, before catching sight of the bunnies clustered around him. "Hey, guys!" she said cheerfully. "Are you talking to Mr. Hunter?"

"He's a space alien!" said Bobby excitedly.

Tavi blinked. "Well, not exactly-"

"He said he was! Did he ever ravish you?"

Tavi's ears flattened in shock. "What?"

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

They decided, in deference to Hunter and because of the nice weather, to have dinner outside. With the implacable organizational skills that belonged only to drill sergeants and mothers, Bonnie soon had everyone hauling tables, food, cutlery, and the other accoutrements of dining into something like order on the expansive lawn outside the burrow.

Nick, meanwhile, found himself laboring with Stu to place a table according to the expectations of his girlfriend's mother, specifications which proved to be remarkably exact.

"No, no, turn it around, Stu," she ordered, looking up from laying large cutlery for Hunter's place.

Her husband frowned. "It's the same both ways. It's a picnic table."

"That side needs to be facing the road."

Stu opened his mouth, then shrugged. He glanced at Nick. "Orders are orders."

Nick smiled at him, careful to not show too many teeth. "Ours is not to reason why, ours is not to make reply, ours is but to do and dine."

Stu looked surprised, but chuckled after a second. "Something like that." They picked up the table and spun it around. He looked to his wife for approval, but she had disappeared into the house again. "I'm half tempted to spin it around the way it was before to see if she noticed."

"You like to live dangerously, huh?" said Nick.

"Said I was half-tempted. She'd know, somehow." He grabbed a tablecloth and spread it across the table. Nick hurried to smooth the edges.

"So," he said carelessly, "Judy says you like to golf?"

"Yeah, every now and again." He glanced at the fox. "You golf, Mr. Wilde?"

"Sure. Maybe we can get in a few rounds tomorrow after I do that school thing," said Nick. "And call me Nick."

After a moment, Stuart nodded. "Okay." He paused. "Sounds like a plan, Mr Wi- Nick."

As he turned away, Nick caught Judy's eye- she was trying to herd a number of her younger siblings to the tables- and gave a thumbs-up.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"So, Mr. Hunter," said Bonnie as they began passing around food. "You're from the human worlds?"

With remarkable forbearance, Hunter managed not to point out how excruciatingly obvious that was. "Yes, ma'am."

"Which planet?" asked a younger rabbit, whom Hunter guessed was in her early teens.

  
"Alpha Centauri Prime- AlphaCen for short."

"What's it like there?"

Hunter shrugged. "Different." He looked carefully at the young bunny. "I didn't catch your name, young lady."

"Cotton. I'm Aunt Judy's niece. I read a lot about the Human Stars- you've had a lot of wars."

  
"Well, not me personally." He paused. "At least not if you don't count between me and the brass."

Stu gave him an odd look.

"The books say the Human Stars are an oligarchical kleptocracy behind a veneer of democratic institutions," said Cotton. "Is that true?"

Hunter looked confused. "Maybe? I'm not entirely sure what you just said."

"An oligarchy is a-"

"No politics at the table," said Bonnie firmly.

Hunter leaned over to Tavi. "That was politics?"

She rolled her eyes.

"So what's it like to fly in space?" asked Cotton. Though thwarted in her investigation of the political landscape of the Human Stars, she seemed intent on interrogating Hunter.

"Well, it's mostly not too interesting. I mean, there aren't really any windows, you know."

"Why not?" asked another bunny. Hunter noticed most of the table was now looking at him.

"Nothing to see," said Hunter. "Space is really big, you know." He grinned at the bunny. "So you're usually too far away to see anything interesting until you're arrived, and then you get on a shuttle to the planet."

"How do you travel from one star to another?" asked Cotton. "You have some kind of faster-than-light travel, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know exactly how it works, though." Hunter chewed some food thoughtfully. "One of the crewmen on the ship I took to here tried to explain it to me, so I gather it has something to do with apples."

There was a confused silence. "Apples?" said Stu uncertainly.

Cotton looked thoughtful, then brightened, her ears standing straight up. "Oh! Wormholes!"

Hunter looked at her in surprise, then smiled. "Yeah, that's right. You're a pretty smart kid."

"It's kit," she said, confused.

"Human slang. Yeah, wormholes. Like, if you were an ant walking around the apple, it would take a long time- but a worm bores right through it." Hunter nodded, satisfied.

"So human ships are like worms?" asked Bobby.

"I guess so?"

"Captain Dan Hare fought the space-worms of Sirius A once, but even they didn't have worm ships," said the bunny doubtfully.

"Did he ever fight humans?"

"Yep! They had ray guns!"

"Right, right," said Hunter. "I had forgotten the ray guns."

Bonnie smiled as Hunter continued to field questions from her kits. "You have a way with children, Mr. Hunter," she said after one of his comments elicited peals of high-pitched giggling.

The human looked a bit wistful. "Always liked kids- children, I mean."

"Do you have children, Mr. Hunter?" asked Cotton.

Nick, Judy, and Tavi all pricked up their ears and looked toward their friend worriedly.

Hunter had frozen, his fork halfway up to his mouth. The rest of the table's conversations gradually died away as everyone saw the stricken look on the human's face.

Cotton gradually realized she had said something wrong, and her ears lowered. "I didn't mean-"

After a long moment, Hunter carefully put down his fork and stood up. "I'm sorry, guys- been a long day. I think I'll take a little walk and head to bed." He nodded towards Stuart and Bonnie. "Thank you for supper."

"Are you okay, Mr. Hunter?" asked Bonnie worriedly. She didn't know what it meant when a human turned pale like that, but it didn't look good.

"Just a long day," repeated Hunter. He stepped back and walked away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Cotton stared after him. She seemed about to burst into tears. "What'd I say?"

Tavi leaned over and hugged her. "You didn't do anything wrong, sweetie."

"Is he mad at me?"

Tavi shook her head emphatically. "No, no. You just accidentally reminded him of something. It's not your fault." She hesitated, looking at Hunter as he walked away. "I'd better go talk to him."

She hopped down and hurried off.

The rest of the gathering looked awkwardly at one another. "I'll explain later," murmured Judy to her mother, who was giving her a questioning look.

Bonnie looked at her curiously, but shrugged it away. "Well," she said, trying to get everyone back into a good mood. "No doubt you and Nick have some interesting stories about being police officers."

The kits all looked at them expectantly.

As was so often the case when someone says something like that, both Nick and Judy suddenly seemed to forget every funny or interesting story they knew. "Uh," said Nick, thinking.

Bonnie sensed the problem. "Wasn't Mr. Hunter going to tell us a story about- what was it, dear?" she said to Stu.

"A drop-bear," said Stu.

Both Judy and Nick started choking.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"Zach."

Hunter kept walking as Tavi scampered to catch up.

"Zach, wait up. Hunter!"

He stopped, looked down as she ran up next to him. "Come on, Tavi, try to keep up."

"It's not my fault you have freakishly long legs." He started walking again, but more slowly.

For a long moment, they walked in silence.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked, finally.

"Not right now."

"Fair enough."

They kept walking.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

 

Judy walked into the room she was sharing with Nick and closed the door. She leaned back against it with a sigh, closing her eyes. "Well, that was awkward."

"Could have been worse," said Nick. He was fiddling with his cell phone while sitting on the bed. "I think I may have started to bring your dad around."

She blinked. "Really? That's great! How?"

"Quoted Tenrecson."

Judy frowned. "You quoted classical poetry?"

He looked up from his phone, smiling at her. "What? I read."

She shook her head and smiled, too. "I wouldn't have thought Dad would have warmed up to you because of poetry."

"Well, we were bonding over the bossiness of females- ow!" He rubbed his arm where Judy had playfully hit him. "Case in point."

She sat down next to him. "I'm glad it's going okay." She hesitated. "Nick, what I said on the train-"

The fox stiffened slightly. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." Judy looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that if you didn't get along with my family we couldn't be together. I was just worried."

He was quiet for a moment. "I don't want to lose you," he said, very quietly.

The bunny shook her head. "You won't," she promised.

Nick cocked his head, studying her. "Even if they don't like me? What if- and I'm not saying it would happen- but what if they told you they didn't want anything to do with you as long as you were with me?"

Judy's eyes widened. "Nick- they wouldn't-"

"I'm not saying they would." His voice was low, troubled. He looked back down at his phone. "Just- if they did."

"It won't happen," she said firmly.

Nick, keeping his eyes on his phone, was silent for a long moment. "Okay, Carrots."

Troubled, she watched him for a moment. Then she glanced at his phone and blinked in surprise. "What are you watching?"

He held up the phone. "Zootube videos. How to golf in fifteen lessons."

"Um. Why?"

"I'm going golfing with your dad tomorrow."

"You golf?"

He pointed to the phone. "Not yet."

Judy rolled her eyes. "You know, it's kinda complicated."

"How complicated could it be? The videos are only about fifteen minutes long."

She shook her head and leaned against him. "You know, the walls in here are pretty thick- pretty much soundproof. All that dirt around them," she said suggestively.

He glanced at her, then did a double-take, his eyes widening. "Um, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She grabbed him and pulled him into a long kiss.

After a moment, he broke the kiss. "I can't, Carrots."

Judy kept her arms around him. "Why not? Too nervous in my house?" she asked.

"No, it's just-" he pointed to the phone. "I've got to get through all fifteen lessons tonight."

A moment later the phone shattered against the wall.

Nick stared. "Wow, Carrots, you have a pretty good arm on you-"

He was cut off, and for the rest of the night neither of them said much of anything.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"Judy told me what happened to Mr. Hunter's children," said Bonnie to her husband as they were getting ready for bed.

Stu nodded. "She told me, too. Poor mammal." He opened the closet and pulled out a set of golf clubs.

Bonnie pulled on her nightshirt. "I feel for him, but I have to say- it doesn't make me any happier for Judy to be in the city. I mean, if there are mammals willing to do something that awful-" She shivered.

Her husband paused as he inspected a nine iron. His nose twitched. "I hadn't even thought about that." He shook his head. "Thanks, Bonnie."

She sighed. "You would have thought of it sooner or later."

"Rather have done it later, though." He picked up his putter and studied it critically.

Bonnie watched him. "Stu, what are you doing?"

"The fox wants to play golf tomorrow."

"His name is Nick," she said.

He glanced at her. "Right."

"Well, it will be a good chance to get to know him," said Bonnie carefully.

"Right," said Stu. He picked out a driver and hefted it free of the bag. He swung it through the air a few times.

"Stu?" asked Bonnie.

"Yes, dear?"

"What are you doing now?"

"Just practicing my swing, Bonnie."

"Isn't it usual to practice swinging at the ground, where the ball would be?" asked Bonnie dryly. "Not at, for example, head-height for a fox?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in case you're curious, Dan Dare was a 1950's era space captain like Buck Rogers. I didn't use Buck Rogers because it was already too perfect (buck being a male rabbit, of course). I don't know if that makes any sense. For the same reason I decided against Tiger Woods being involved in Nick's golfing lessons videos. I keep running into real-life people with actual Zootopian names. 
> 
> A tenrec is a small mammal that looks sort of like a possum. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, of course, wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade, which contains the lines:
> 
> Theirs is not to reason why,  
> Theirs is not to make reply,  
> Theirs is but to do and die.
> 
> An excellent Romantic era poem- I highly recommend it.
> 
> The reference to apples and wormholes is a common model to try and describe one possible form of faster-than-light travel. Hunter may well have misunderstood it, though- he's very intelligent, but tends to get bored if the subject doesn't hold his interest.


	7. Chapter 7

The four ZPD officers stood outside Woodlands Elementary. Tavi was practically vibrating with excitement.

"I love children! This is going to be so much fun!"

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, I always enjoyed this sort of thing."

"Really?" said Judy incredulously. "You liked talking to students?"

He nodded. "Yep. I almost never had to arrest any of them, and it was better than working."

"Almost never?"

Before Hunter could answer, an older rabbit with thick spectacles walked outside. She saw the four other mammals and raised a paw in greeting. "Judy Hopps! My, how you've grown!"

Judy gave her a hug. "Hi, Ms. Harrington."

"You can call me Esther, Judy- you're not a student anymore." She looked at the other three. "Let me see- you'd be Officer Tavi-" she shook Tavi's extended paw. "And Officer Wilde, and Officer, um, Hunter." Hunter raised an eyebrow at her hesitation at his last name- it had been a while since anyone made note of it.

They shook her paw. "So are we going to be speaking in the auditorium, or-" said Judy.

"Oh, well, since there's four of you, I thought I'd just have you go to the different classes. Officer Tavi will have the kindergartners and first grade, you'll have the second and third-graders, Officer Wilde can talk to the fourth-grade, and Officer Hunter will speak to the fifth."

Judy missed a step. "Um, I thought we'd all be speaking together."

"Here's your class, Mr. Hunter," said Harrington cheerfully, gesturing to a door. Hunter nodded to her and disappeared inside. Harrington looked at Judy. "Is something the matter, dear?"

Judy never moved her eyes from the door where Hunter had disappeared. "It's just that I thought that- um, especially with Hunter, maybe we should have someone else with him-" she stopped, unsure how to continue.

Harrington chuckled. "Oh, he's an adult. Surely he doesn't need any supervision."

Nick started coughing. Judy shot him a glare. "Try to tell Chief Bogo that," she muttered.

"What's that, dear?"

"Nothing."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

As was a time-honored tradition among schoolchildren meeting a police officer, the first question was the same for all four officers.

"Have you ever shot anyone?"

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"Well, that's not what we're here to talk about," answered Judy evasively.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"No," said Tavi truthfully.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"No," said Nick falsely.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"Yep!" said Hunter casually. He noticed the teacher- Ms. Bunting- look up from her desk, her ears swiveling towards him and her eyes wide. "But they were all bad guys," he assured the class.

A young doe raised her hand. "If I were a bad guy, would you shoot me?"

"Well, it depends on what you were doing."

"What if I was trying to shoot you?"

"Then yes."

Ms. Bunting stood up."Um, Officer Hunter, maybe you shouldn't-"

"What happens when you shoot someone?" asked another youngster, a kid- that is, a young goat.

"Well, it all depends," said Hunter. He looked around. "It'd probably be easiest to use a diagram. Where's the chalk- ah." He picked it up a bare second before Ms. Bunting could snatch it. He turned towards the blackboard and drew a stylized rabbit. "So you generally want to aim for the areas of the major arteries-"

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

When Tavi, Nick, and Judy walked into the principal's office some time later, they found Hunter writing on a blackboard under the stern gaze of Principal Harrington. Specifically, he was writing one sentence over and over.

"I will not teach children how to kill," read Nick. Judy covered her eyes with her paws.

"Technically, I was teaching them how to shoot to neutralize, not kill," muttered Hunter.

Harrington smacked him with a ruler.

"Ow!"

"You will be quiet until you've written all one thousand lines, Officer Hunter."

He sighed. "Yes, ma'am."

She turned to Judy, a severe look on her face. "And you, Ms. Hopps. I want to have a word with you."

Judy blanched. "I tried to warn you-"

Seizing her by one ear, Harrington dragged the protesting bunny into the other room. Tavi, Nick, and Hunter watched them go.

Hunter grinned. "I like her. Reminds me of my mom."

The door swung back open. "Keep writing, Mr. Hunter!" shouted Harrington.

"Yes, ma'am!" Hunter hurriedly turned back to the board.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"I still don't get what the big problem was," said Hunter as they walked along the street away from the school.

Nick looked at him disbelievingly. "You gave a fifteen minute lecture on the best way to shoot another mammal to a bunch of fifth-graders."

"Yeah? And?"

"Even you can't be this dense," said Judy, rubbing her still-sore ear. "You don't talk to children about things like that."

  
He frowned down at them. "I know you don't have mandatory military training like we did, but I figured you'd still teach them something about that sort of thing."

Nick blinked at him. "Mandatory military training?"

"Yeah. From the sixth grade onward, then two years minimum service after high school." He didn't notice the shocked looks they exchanged. "We fight a lot of wars, you know."

"But- children?"

"Gotta start sometime. The earlier, the better," said Hunter with a shrug.

"That's horrible," said Judy.

"What? Why?"

"It- it just is! Children should be protected from that sort of thing," she said angrily. "Not taught about it! In class!"

"Would you rather they learn about it when it happens?" asked Hunter, confused.

"Why would they have to learn about it at all?"

They stared at one another for a moment. Nick glanced between Judy and Hunter, then cleared his throat. "I think this is a cultural thing."

Hunter frowned at him. "Huh?"

"You grew up on a world that was frequently raided by enemies," Nick pointed out. "Zootopia doesn't have that problem. We don't see that we have to expose anyone- except maybe those who volunteer- to violence and death. You have to teach them, because it's better than learning through experience."

Tavi nodded slowly. "I think I see." She shook her head slowly. "I don't know whether to think that makes us better or worse."

Nick shrugged. "Maybe it just makes us different."

After a moment, Hunter nodded. "I guess so."

Judy studied him. "Zach, why did you want to do this school thing anyway? You're not exactly the social sort."

The human looked around. "Hey, look at that, a bar. Well, the day wasn't a total waste." He turned and started to walk away. "I'll meet you guys back at Judy's house."

Judy started to raise a paw, but shook his head at her. "What?" she asked him, quietly.

Before Nick could speak, Tavi answered. "He wants to be alone," she said.

"Well, yes, but why?"

Nick watched their friend walk through the doors of the bar. "He wanted to do this school talk because he wanted to be around children for a while," said Nick quietly. "Didn't you notice how he was around your siblings? He actually seemed happy, for once."

Judy's eyes widened in realization. "Oh."

"I wonder if he even realizes why he was doing it," said Tavi sadly. "Or if he's blocking that out, too."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Hunter walked into the bar, noting the few customers- the sort of mammals that drink at four o'clock in the afternoon. He found a stool- there were a few for larger mammals, though they were slightly uncomfortable still- and sat down. The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Hey," the rabbit said. "Aren't you a human?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm getting over it." He nodded towards the bottles behind the bartender. "So what kind of booze do you serve in Bunnyburrow? Beer made from carrots?"

The bartender frowned. "Come on, that's just stereotypical. They're made from hops."

"Huh. Now that I think about it, that's pretty thematically appropriate, too."

"We've got pilsners, dark ales-" the bartender pointed to bottles behind him as he listed them. "This is a pretty good dark lager, this one's nice and chewy, and-"

"Hang on a second. What was that one?" Hunter pointed to one that the bartender had skipped.

The bunny hesitated. "It's not important. I also have an excellent-"

"Let me see it."

With a sigh, the bartender handed the bottle to Hunter.

"Ha," said Hunter with satisfaction as he read the label. "Carrot beer. I knew it."

"It's not that popular," muttered the bartender.

"Then why do you have so many bottles of it?" said Hunter, gesturing to the long row behind the one the bartender had taken down.

"They just don't sell," said the bartender quickly.

"Right," said Hunter. "Okay, I'll try it."

  
"It's pretty strong stuff," warned the bunny.

"Good."

The bartender popped the cap off and poured the beer into a glass. "Imagine, me having a human in my bar," he said musingly.

"Well, don't spread it around or everyone will want one."

The bunny eyed him. "Not likely."

"Oh, good, a sarcastic bartender. Just what I wanted."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Nick looked at Tavi. "What time is it?"

"About four," she said, checking her phone. She frowned at him. "What happened to your phone?"

"It, uh, got broken. I need to get going." He looked to Judy. "I've got to go to tea with your dad, I guess. Didn't strike me as a tea kind of mammal."

Judy exchanged a confused look with Tavi. "He's not," she said, then rolled her eyes as it clicked. "You mean tee time."

The fox nodded. "Yeah, that's what I said. Tea time at four thirty."

Judy squinted at him. "You're being serious."

"Yes?" said Nick, confused.

"Tee time, Nick," said Tavi, exasperated. "T-E-E. A tee is what you hit the golf ball from."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" asked Judy. "At least tell him you're a beginner and you just want to learn how to play."  
"No, I wanted him to think it's a shared interest," said Nick. He scowled. "Besides, if someone hadn't broken my phone, I would have gotten further than lesson two."

"Broke your phone?" Tavi frowned. "Who broke your phone?"

"So you two are going to go shopping with your mom, right, Carrots?" said Nick quickly. "I'll see you later."

She sighed. "Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too." Nick hurried off down the street.

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Nick half-ran up to the clubhouse of the golf course, hoping he wasn't going to be late. Sure, it was just a friendly game of golf- well, no, it wasn't.

He paused to catch his breath, looked around. The golf course stretched out around him, a wide expanse of open space, rolling hills, and nary a large building in sight.

It made him nervous.

He had grown up in the city. Large empty spaces generally meant you were in a part of town that developers shunned, and so seeing too many of them meant you watched your step and your wallet with equal care. Not only that, but after being a cop for awhile, you just hate to feel exposed.

It didn't help how high the stakes were. Judy wouldn't answer his question the previous night- whether she would choose her family over him. He would never ask her to make that choice, but what if they did?

Sometimes he missed his old life, when he didn't have to worry about these things. When he never wondered what someone saw in him, because he knew what mammals saw in foxes. When the only opinion that mattered was his.

On the other paw, he was terrified that he would go back to it.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and went inside the clubhouse.

Stu was sitting in a lounge area, looking at his phone. He looked up and smiled at Nick. "Mr. Wilde- I mean, Nick. You're right on time."

Nick smiled back, with more confidence than he felt. "Glad to hear it. My phone broke and I hardly ever wear a watch anymore."

Stu snorted. "Yeah, I understand. Amazing how these things have taken over." He gestured with the cell phone. "I figured you didn't have any clubs with you, so I went ahead and rented a set."

Nick ambled over and picked up the bag carefully. "Thanks, Mr. Hopps."

"Oh, go ahead and call me Stu." The bunny got up and Nick followed him as he retrieved his golf clubs and walked out the back door of the club.

Well, this seemed promising. Nick began to feel a bit less nervous. Maybe things would go all right after all-

"Heya, Stu. Mr. Wilde," said Sheriff Gruff as they walked out. He stood with his own set of golf clubs. Next to him, resplendent in a green sweater vest and tam o'shanter, Deputy Fluff eyed Nick suspiciously.

"Hope you don't mind, Nick," said Stu casually. "The sheriff plays, too."

Beside Gruff, the deputy pointed to his eyes, then at Nick, then to his eyes again.

Nick sighed.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Tavi consulted a list. "Where would I find this?" she asked, holding up the list to Bonnie.

The older mammal squinted. "Modelling glue?"

"Hunter asked me to pick some up for his job."

  
Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "He uses modelling glue as a police officer?"

"It's a side job," said Judy. She paused. "Though I wouldn't put it past him to use it for some shenanigan at the station," she muttered, half to herself.

"Shenanigans, eh?" said Bonnie. "Bit of a prankster, is he?"

"Oh, yes!" said Tavi. "Everyone told me about that thing with the reporter, where he convinced her she was exposed to Night Howler and..." The mongoose trailed off as she noticed Judy frantically shaking her head behind her mother.

"And what?" asked Bonnie, curious.

"Um, I've forgotten the rest."

Bonnie eyed her, but then decided to let it pass. "Well, we can get it at a hobby store. There's one next to the mall."

They made their way along the sidewalk. Several of the mammals passing by exchanged greetings with the three, one older rabbit- a cousin of some sort, Tavi gathered- stopping to talk for a few minutes. Eventually, they found themselves outside a small hobby shop.

Tavi waved to them. "I'll be right back!"

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"So where is Mr. Hunter?" Bonnie asked Judy casually.

Judy decided that saying he was likely drinking himself into oblivion was not the best response. "He's just walking around, seeing the sights."

"The sights?"

"He's just walking around," amended Judy. "I think he just needed to clear his head."

Bonnie nodded. "I'm sorry to hear about his family." She hesitated. "What happened to the human that did that to him, exactly?"

"He won't hurt anyone else," replied Judy, avoiding her eyes.

  
For a long moment, Bonnie was silent. "I worry about you."

  
"I know, mom," said Judy softly.

"It's not just what might be done to you," said her mother. "It's what you might have to do. It can change a mammal, seeing such terrible things. Having to- to-" she stopped.

Judy knew what she meant. "It has changed me," she said quietly.

Before Bonnie could say anything, Judy met her eyes. "It's made me stronger. It's made me more aware of what I have. And maybe it's made me a bit less carefree, less optimistic," she admitted. "But it's a fair trade."

Bonnie searched her daughter's face. "Is it?"

Judy nodded. "Yes."

"But- Judy, you got those awards. They're some of the highest awards in the department. They don't give those out for collecting bottle caps."

"No," Judy said reluctantly.

"Then-"

Judy looked at her mother, her face solemn. "Do you want to know, mom? Do you really want to know exactly what happened?"

Bonnie wavered, at a sudden loss for words. "I-"

"You know, you and dad were so happy when I was a meter maid. It was safe." Judy turned away, crossing her arms. "Did you even realize how upset I was? How much of a failure I was feeling?"

"Judy, we just want to know you're okay."

"I know, mom. But I didn't become a cop because I thought it would be easy, or safe. I became a cop because I could make a difference!" Judy turned to face Bonnie again. "To make the world a better place! And that's not always safe, or easy."

"I know," said Bonnie. She wiped away a sudden tear. "And we're proud of you. But you never talk to us anymore like you used to. You don't tell us about work, you walk around with new scars, you associate with-" she stopped.

Judy's eyes widened with sudden anger. "With who, mom? With foxes?"

"That's not what I was going to say," said Bonnie.

"What were you going to say, then?"

For a long moment, the two does stared at one another.

Tavi walked out of the store right between them. "Ha! Found it! Says it'll bond anything with anything, which I guess is good." She suddenly noticed the tension between Judy and Bonnie. "Maybe I should use it on you two," she said under her breath.

They looked at her as if they were just remembering her existence. "Did you find it?" asked Judy with forced cheer.

Tavi eyed her. "Yes," she repeated slowly. She held up the glue. "See?"

"Good," said Bonnie briskly. "Well, let's go."

Tavi looked up at Judy as they walked, Bonnie some distance ahead of them. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"It's fine," said Judy.

The mongoose eyed the stiff, angry gait of Judy's mother. "Right."

Judy took a deep breath. "She wants to know what goes on at work, but doesn't really want to know. And she wants to know how it's changed me, but she doesn't really want to admit I might have changed. And she wants to know how I ended up with a fox, but she doesn't want to sound like she thinks there's anything wrong with that."

Tavi considered. "Well, it's a good thing you said everything's fine. Because if you hadn't, I would have thought that things were pretty bad between you too after all of that."  
Judy sighed. "It's fine."

"Oh, okay. Now that you said it twice, I know it's extra fine. What a relief."

"You've been hanging out with Hunter too much."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of helping to set up the next story- the Human Stars are an extremely militarized civilization, thanks to the near constant fighting. This will gradually become more important. Note that Hunter did not serve in the military- as noted before, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia right at the age a person would normally enter the military, so he is one of the few who have no direct military experience. How much this affects his attitude and demeanor is left as an exercise for the reader.
> 
> Those who serve in high-stress, high-intensity occupations- police, military, doctors, etc- will understand this chapter, I think. There's a fine line to walk between being too closed down and burdening others with the horrors you see. Judy is still trying to find that line, and much of her anger stems from frustration at trying to reach a balance. It's not uncommon with folks with close families that find themselves in positions their family cannot or will not understand.


	8. Chapter 8

"So you play a lot of golf, Nick?"

Nick was watching Stuart carefully as he set up a tee, but glanced at Gruff when he spoke. "A bit."

Gruff nodded. "Busy, huh? I guess it's a nice advantage to be a small-town sheriff- I get to play pretty frequently."

Nick looked at the sheriff's deputy, who was scowling at him from a short distance away. "And you get your own caddy."

The sheriff sighed. "Trust me," he muttered, "I didn't ask him to be my caddy. And I definitely didn't tell him to dress like that."

Nick noted that he was not, as it turned out, expected to dress like the golfers from old movies. He had suspected as much when he saw Gruff and Stuart's casual attire, but it was good to know for sure. That might well have been a deal breaker. He turned back to watch Stuart.

The rabbit carefully stepped up to the tee, measuring the stroke several times with his club. He set himself, and with a smooth, strong stroke launched the ball. The four mammals shaded their eyes as they watched the ball sail towards the green.

"It's a par three," said Gruff conversationally. "So there's a good chance- yeah, good shot, Stu!" The ball bounced onto the green, rolling a short distance towards one edge.

Stuart studied the green critically. "Sliced it just a hair. That green's tricky, might just make par on this one."

Gruff snorted. "Perfectionist." He looked at Nick. "After you, Nick."

Moving with a confidence he didn't feel, Nick walked up to the tee and, as he had seen Stuart do, set the tee with the ball on top in one smooth motion. He stepped back and hesitated as he looked at the clubs. Which one should he use?

Fortuitously, he heard Gruff speaking to Stuart. "Surprised you went with the five iron on that one."

Stuart shrugged. "I think I needed a bit more loft on this hole than last time. Seems to have worked out all right."

 _Okay,_ thought Nick. _So I should use a five iron._

He contemplated the bag.

_So what the hell is a five iron?_

"I'm surprised you had much time to play golf, especially in the city," Stu said to Nick as he hesitated. "I know Judy doesn't play. Do you belong to a club?"

"No, more of a sort of hobby," said Nick. He hastily selected a club, more or less at random, and returned to the tee. "You play a lot, I gather? Judy's mentioned it a few times."

"Not as much as I like to. The farm, you know- it's a lot of work."

"Yeah, I guess so." Nick measured his stroke in the same way Stuart had. "It must make for a long day."

"Sure. But it's good, honest work. Lets a bunny sleep at night."

"I don't reckon a fox would know much about that," murmured Fluff, just loud enough for Nick to hear. The sheriff turned to glare at his deputy, who wilted.

Nick decided to ignore it. He took a deep breath and swung.

The three other mammals stared at him. Then they looked at the ball, which sat serenely on the tee, having been entirely missed by Nick's club.

"That counts as a stroke," said Fluff cheerfully.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Bonnie, Judy, and Tavi all sat in silence at the restaurant, a small place specializing in "country cuisine". Tavi, who had lived in the city her whole life, had been interested in finding out what this meant. She had since learned that it was apparently a synonym for "deep-fried". Or possibly "heart disease."

"I thought bunnies ate healthy," she muttered to herself as she picked at her food. "Lettuce and things." She looked between Judy and Bonnie, who sat on opposite ends of the table.

The two were studiously polite when they were forced to talk to one another, but thus far it hadn't come up much. At a guess, they'd said maybe fifteen words in the last half-hour. Tavi had tried to get a conversation started with little success.

Still, if at first you don't succeed- "So Nick plays golf," she said brightly. "I didn't know that."

Judy smiled nervously. "Yes, he's full of surprises."

"Is he?" said her mother flatly.

The two glared at one another. Tavi sighed.

"I mean, I wouldn't know," said Bonnie. "I don't know hardly anything about him."

"Mom..." said Judy in a warning tone.

"Other than what's on the news, of course." Bonnie took a bite of her food and chewed thoughtfully. "Silly of me to expect to know something of my daughter's boyfriend, I suppose."

"Fine!" snapped Judy. "What do you want to know?"

Bonnie blinked at her. "What do I want to know?"

"Yes, mom. What? Ask away."  
She frowned, then nodded. "All right. Why did he become a police officer?"

"Because I told him he should," said Judy. "It was a good fit for him."

"Really?" Bonnie considered that. "So you knew him for some time before that, huh?"

Judy paused. "Sort of."

"Well, you must have known him pretty well to know he'd be a good police officer. I was under the impression you two mostly hit it off after he joined the department." Bonnie suddenly frowned. "But he must have joined after that Night Howler thing. That happened not long after you joined up."

"Yes," said Judy. She shrugged. "I suggested he join up about two days after I met him, actually," she admitted.

Bonnie stared at her. "And he did?"

"Yes?" answered Judy questioningly. "I mean, clearly."

"Why? I mean, it's good that he's doing well, but- why?" Her mother sounded honestly confused.

"Because-" Judy stopped.

She hadn't thought about it before.

For her, becoming a police officer had been a life-long dream. Whether she would join the department or not had been decided for so long that she literally had not even considered another career. But Nick hadn't even considered the police before she met him.

Or at least, not as a career choice. She had to admit that he probably thought about the police fairly frequently in other contexts in his prior life.

And then after a couple of days of spending time with her, he went and changed his entire life.

Why?

"I don't know," she said, finally.

Bonnie cocked her head. "Don't you think you should?" she asked quietly.

The silence was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress. "Well, are you folks ready for dessert?" she asked cheerily.

"It's not deep-fried, is it?" asked Tavi suspiciously.

The waitress frowned. "Rhubarb pie?" She turned towards the kitchen. "Paul!"

A stout rabbit wearing an apron poked his head out. "Yeah?"

"Can you deep-fry rhubarb pie?"

"No, wait-" said Tavi.

The cook- Paul, she assumed- blinked in surprise. "Deep-fry rhubarb pie? I never heard of such a thing. That's crazy."

"Well," said Tavi quickly. "The pie will be just fine then-"

Paul had a thoughtful expression on his face. Then his eyes lit up. "But it just might work!" He disappeared again into the kitchen.

From behind the door they could hear him talking to himself. "Deep-fried pie! It's brilliant! They said I was mad to run a restaurant where I deep-fry everything, mad they said! Well, who's mad now?" There was a loud clatter.

The waitress gave them a weak smile. "Sorry. Paul is pretty, um, enthusiastic." She winced at another loud clatter, followed by a crash. "I better check on him." She hurried away.

The rest of the restaurant watched the kitchen warily.

Tavi saw Bonnie and Judy staring at her.

"What?" she said irritably. "You two picked the restaurant."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"So why did you become a cop?" asked Stuart as he watched Nick flail at the ball, deep in the bottom of a sand pit.

Nick looked up as Fluff diligently recorded his latest stroke on the score card. "Why?"

"Yeah, why? I gather that it wasn't a dream of yours like it was with Judy, so why join up?"

"Beats working for a living," said Nick flippantly.

"Ha! Just like a fox, to take the easy way out!" said Deputy Fluff.

Gruff looked at him. "You're a cop, too, you know."

"Oh. Right."

"Maybe you should try a sand wedge, Nick," the sheriff suggested. "It's probably the best way to get out of bunkers."

Nick looked around, confused, searching for any sign of flat-roofed concrete buildings. "Bunkers?"

Stuart snorted and walked away. "I'll be at the next hole. Let me know if and when you get out of there." Fluff chuckled and followed him.

"You've never played a round of golf in your life, have you?" asked Gruff when they were out of earshot.

Nick paused as he was lining up again on the ball, considered the question. "No," he admitted.

"Then why are you out here?"

Nick glanced towards Stu and sighed. "I was trying to make a good impression."

"By spending the last twenty minutes digging yourself deeper and deeper into a pit?" Gruff asked pointedly. "And I mean that both literally and figuratively."

Nick looked up at the goat. "In case you didn't notice, I'm not the most popular kind of mammal around here."

Gruff nodded thoughtfully. "So you and Judy get along all right?" he asked.

Nick frowned at the sudden change of subject. "Pretty much."

  
"Stuart and Bonnie are good mammals," said Gruff, almost idly. "They have their little quirks and even prejudices, but so does everyone."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at-"

"Judy's a lot like them," said Gruff. He met Nick's eyes.

For a moment, Nick stared at him. "And I get along with her," he said slowly.

"Yep."

"So I should be able to get along with them."

  
"How do you act around her?"

Nick leaned on his club and thought about it. "What do you mean?"

"You're acting around Stuart, trying to be something you're not. How do you act around her?" Gruff kept his eyes on the fox, patiently waiting for his answer.

"I don't," said Nick, surprised at the realization. "I don't act around her."

"Well, you probably do a bit," said Gruff. "But in a good way."

"How do you mean?"

"We all act a bit differently around different mammals." The sheriff shouldered his bag. "There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with acting a bit differently with those we love, either. But being with someone should make you _act_ -" he put a bit of stress on the word "-better than you would otherwise do."

"What good is just acting better?" asked Nick. "I mean, if it's just an act-"

  
"The thing about acting that way is that most mammals can't pretend to be that way without eventually becoming the role. Learning to become the sort of mammal their loved ones see in them. It's how we make each other better." Gruff stretched. "You know, I think we can call this one a surrendered hole, as many strokes as you have."

Nick looked down at the ball, which sat partially covered with sand. "You know, this game would be a lot easier if they filled in all these pits. You'd think the groundskeepers would have sorted that out."

Gruff rolled his eyes and reached down to help Nick out of the sand trap. "You've got a lot to learn, Nick."

"Well, I did admit I've never played golf-"

"Yeah, that too."

Nick dusted the sand off his slacks. He looked at Gruff. "You really believe that? That if we put on an act long enough, we can eventually become the sort of mammal we're pretending to be?"

"I don't know." Gruff started walking. "The only one who can really answer that is you." He glanced over his shoulder. "Though I think I might have an idea how it's working out for you. _Officer_ Wilde."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

The alleyway behind the restaurant in downtown Bunnyburrow was, in Claude's view, one of the worst places he had been in a long career of working for- _with_ \- Mr. Big's organization. Since he was in the business of killing mammals that crossed Mr. Big, this was saying something.

It wasn't the lack of cleanliness that bothered him. Sure, the alley was grimy and dirty, but compared to most alleyways he had seen in Zootopia it was remarkably well-kept. No piles of trash, puddles of urine, or comatose homeless mammals to be seen.

It wasn't the location in general. Bunnyburrow was remarkably unremarkable. He couldn't even hate the blandness of the place, because it would be like hating the color beige, or the smell of air.

No, what was slowly driving him up the wall was the odor coming from the restaurant.

"Do they deep-fry everything here?" he muttered angrily. "Their palates must be made of iron."

  
" _Mais oui, mon frere,_ " said one of his companions, who was holding his nose. "They are barbarians."

Claude sighed. "It is no matter. We do the job, then we go home." He got a dreamy look in his eye. "We shall celebrate at _Le Cochon Tres Cherc_."

"Ah, _tres bien!_ I shall have the _salade d'avocats, pommes et noix-"_

Claude realized they were getting distracted and interrupted him before the whole group started talking about their favorite foods. "Focus! We have the job to do, no? Then we shall have all the time in the world to forget this place and its-" he grimaced- "cuisine."

As if on cue, Pierre poked his head around the corner. "I have found them, but I do not see Hunter."

Claude glared at him. "What? Where is he? He should be with the rabbit and mongoose."

Pierre gave an apologetic shrug. "What can I say? He is not."

The head hitmammal drummed his fingers on a nearby crate irritably. "We shall spread out, find him. Etienne!"

" _Oui?_ "

"Go find Raymond. Tell the rhino to be ready- we may wish to use him later." Claude flicked his tail.

Etienne looked at him curiously. "Is he not part of the contract, Claude?"

"Of course he is. But there is no sense in not making use of him, _n'est-ce pas vrai?_ And if he gets killed by the human?" Claude shrugged.

"Then it makes the job a bit easier, no?"

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Nick followed the sheriff as they walked up to Stuart and Fluff, who were waiting somewhat patiently at the next tee. The rabbit watched him approach. "Finally make it out of there?" he asked dryly. "Or did you just dig your way all the way through the planet and back?"

The fox smiled weakly. "So I may have exaggerated a bit when I said I play golf."

Stu just looked at him. "Uh-huh."

"Mr. Hopps, look- I'm sorry." Nick took a deep breath. "I just wanted to get to know you and give you a chance to get to know me. That's all. It just seemed easier to do something you enjoyed together than sort of awkwardly hanging around hoping we figured each other out."

Stuart cocked an eyebrow at him, then looked at Gruff, who shrugged. "I think he's telling the truth," said Gruff. "He was just trying to be subtle."

"Sly," said Nick automatically. He winced as everyone looked at him. "Just a sort of joke."

The bunny chuckled. "Well, if we have to have a 'sly' fox, might as well be one that isn't very good at it. Tell you what, Nick, why don't I show you how to play? Who knows, maybe you might like it."

Nick felt a wave of relief. "I'd appreciate that, Mr. Hopps."

"Go ahead and tee up."

Most of the rest of the day seemed to go pretty well. Stuart corrected his stance and swing, instructed him on which club to use, and taught him the rules of the game. To his surprise, Nick found he did kind of enjoy it. Once he had better instruction than a half-remembered Zootube video, he even found he had some natural talent.

Not that it stopped Fluff from doggedly recording every missed stroke with vindictive glee. "I make it five hundred and sixty strokes above par for you, fox," said Fluff as he teed up at the last hole.

Nick glanced at him. "You know, there's really no point in keeping count. I think we know I lost."

"Just a friendly game," said Gruff tiredly to his deputy. "Relax."

"Remember to follow through," said Stuart, who was watching Nick critically. "You'll get another nasty slice if you chop at it like last time. Nice and smooth."

"Okay." Nick measured the swing and brought the club up above his head. He shot a look down the fairway at the green.

"So," said Stuart casually as Nick swung. "Judy was telling me about what you used to do before you joined the ZPD."

The golf club flew from Nick's suddenly nerveless fingers, describing a graceful arc some thirty meters along until it clattered onto the fairway.

Fluff frowned. "Does that count as a stroke?"

Nick stared at Stuart. "She told you?" he said faintly.

The bunny was staring open-mouthed at the club Nick had inadvertently thrown. "When I said follow through, I didn't mean all the way, Nick." He suddenly noticed Nick's face. "Sure, she told me."

"And you're okay with it?"

Stuart exchanged a puzzled look with Gruff. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm going to count it as two strokes," said Fluff. No one paid him any attention.

"You don't have any problem with me being a-" Nick tried to think of a fairly neutral term "-a confidence mammal."

Stuart's eyes widened. "A what?"

"A hustler," said Fluff helpfully. "A bunko artist. A grifter. A scammer-"

"Shut up, Fluff, Hunter already did that joke," snapped Nick.

"You were a con-mammal?" shouted Stuart. "A thief?"

"No, no! I never stole anything- I thought you said you knew!"

"Judy said you sold popsicles!" Stuart shook his head. "She lied to me? Or is that some new slang term you youngsters are using these days? This is 'twerking' all over again, isn't it?"

"Twerking?"

"Never mind!" Stuart grabbed his golf bag. "I knew it!"

"Stu- I'm sure there's some explanation," said Gruff. He tried to put a paw on the bunny's shoulder, but Stuart shook it off.

"Oh, I'm sure there is. I'm sure there's a great explanation for why my little girl is shacking up with some crooked fox and lying to me about him!" snarled Stuart. "I'm sure he had all sorts of explanations for her that made her forget who she was and how we raised her!" He started to walk away.

"Mr. Hopps," said Nick, following him. "Listen, that's not who I am anymore."

  
The bunny whirled on him, and Nick backed away to avoid being struck by the golf bag on his back. "Is that a fact?" Despite Stuart's shorter stature, the cold glare he turned on Nick made him feel tiny next to the bunny. "You know, it wouldn't surprise me if Judy believed that. It wouldn't surprise me if even you believed it, fox." He took a step towards Nick, who stepped back hurriedly. "But that's not a chance I'm willing to take. Not for my Judy." He started walking again.

"Where are you going, Stu?" called Gruff.

"Home. I'm going home, I'm going to talk to Bonnie, and then we're going to have a word with Judy," said Stuart over his shoulder, his eyes still flashing with anger. "And we'll just see about her and this fox."

Nick started to follow him again, but felt a strong paw grab his shoulder. He turned to look at Gruff's lined face. The sheriff shook his head. "Not right now, Nick."

"I need to talk to him," said Nick, desperately. "If Judy-"

"He's going to need a bit of time to cool down," said Gruff. "Come on. You can come back to the office with me for now. Maybe by tomorrow he'll be willing to listen to reason."

Nick opened his mouth, then shut it as he realized he had nothing to say. He looked down at the turf, shoving his paws in his pocket. "I guess you're right."

Fluff walked up, looked at Stuart- now almost back to the clubhouse, then at Gruff. "Game over, sheriff?"

"Looks like it."

The deputy held up his pad to Nick. "You lost by five hundred and-"

"Are you hungry, Fluff?" growled Nick.

The deputy frowned. "Why?"

  
"Because in a couple of seconds you're going to be eating that scorepad."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day! I'm on fire!
> 
> So why are the hit-mammals French? Because it's funny. If you don't believe me, read all their dialogue in an outrageous French accent like the Frenchmen in the castle in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. You will then agree with me.
> 
> Apropos of that, some might wonder why the mammals of Zootopia speak the same language as the humans, and how there could be French speakers given the setting. Now, I could make up an elaborate explanatory back-story about how this happened, but it would be boring and not particularly relevant to the plot. So remember it's just a story and relax.
> 
> I don't know golf that well. I picked it for several reasons, but one was that I don't know much about it, so I can relate to Nick as he tries to bluff his way through it, which means that I can write the scene more effectively. So if I made a mistake with terminology or something, feel free to correct me. Because then I'll know, and Knowing is Half the Battle.
> 
> Same goes with the French- I learned some French a long time ago in school, but I've had to rely on half-remembered phrases with some assistance from Google Translate (yes, I know that's not a very good way to translate a language- I'm trying to use it only for very short phrases or single words). Again, if I got something wrong- I'm not one-hundred percent sure I have the context right for one or two of the phrases- please let me know.


	9. Chapter 9

Hunter felt something poking him repeatedly in the side. "I'm awake, I'm awake," he said muzzily. "Did we get a call?"

 

"Yeah," said a voice. "Last call. That was fifteen minutes ago."

 

Hunter blinked as he slowly put together his surroundings. Sticky table, uncomfortable chair, the smell of stale alcohol- "I'm in a bar."

 

"Right. And now we want you out of the bar."

 

He looked at the owner of the voice, his eyes slowly focusing. "You're a rabbit."

 

The rabbit glanced at another, whom he vaguely remembered as the bartender. The bunny looked back at Hunter. "I'm the bouncer."

 

"A bunny bouncer, eh?"

 

"It's last call," said the bouncer, ignoring his comment. "Time to go home. Or wherever."

 

"Home," muttered Hunter. He sat up and stretched. "You can't go home again."

 

The bouncer rolled his eyes. "Spare me the drunk philosophy."

 

The bartender, on the other hand, frowned. "Why can't you go home?"

 

"It's an old saying, means that you can never revisit your past," explained the bouncer.

 

"Actually, it's because I'm wanted for murder and terrorist activities at home," said Hunter.

 

The bunnies looked at one another uneasily.

 

"Just joking."

  
"Really?" asked the bartender nervously.

 

"No. Look, maybe I can just take a little nap here-"

 

The bouncer shook his head. "Nope. Leave or I'll make you."

  
Hunter looked him up and down. "You know, you're fairly big for a bunny."

 

"Yeah."

 

"But you're still a damn bunny rabbit. I'll go when I damn well- ow!"

 

The bouncer zapped him again with the taser. "Out!"

 

Hunter jumped up. "Hey!"

 

The bouncer zapped him again and Hunter danced back. "All right, all right," he said. "I'm going."

 

He lurched out the door, stumbling slightly.

 

The bartender looked at the bouncer with relief. "Nice job."

 

"Thanks. I knew this fox taser Stu gave me would be useful. Never have used it on foxes, though."

 

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

 

Hunter tried to remember where he was with relation to where he was going.

 

Then he tried to remember where he was going.

 

Failing at both tasks, and finding that the alcohol had worked its way through to his bladder, he decided to just go. There was an alleyway nearby that suited his intentions nicely. He leaned against the wall and was mid-stream when he heard a voice.

 

"Ah, just what I've been waiting for."

  
Hunter looked down, then down the alley. He couldn't make anyone out in the darkness. "You were waiting for someone to take a leak?"

 

"I was waiting for you, Monsieur Hunter," said the accented voice.

 

Hunter squinted, still trying to see the voice's owner. "You were waiting for me to take a leak?"

 

"Not precisely." A figure walked out of the darkness.

 

Hunter looked down, then further down as he zipped up. "This is a joke, right?"

 

The squirrel, nattily dressed in a suit and tie, smiled superciliously at him. "If it is, Monsieur Hunter, then the joke is, as you say, on you."

 

The human turned to face the squirrel. "What do you want?"

 

"It is no small matter to cross a member of Mr. Big's organization, Hunter," said the squirrel.

 

"I was just taking back what was mine," said Hunter. "A measly five hundred dollars. He sent a-" he paused ro think "-a hit-squirrel for that?"

 

"The gain may have been small for you, Hunter, but the price is always the same." The squirrel reached for something on his back. Something with a sharp point that glittered in what little light entered the alley.

 

"So what, you're going to poke me to death with a tiny little squirrel sword? Seriously, what kind of amateurs are you?"

 

"Not a sword, Hunter. A syringe. Filled with a poison- a poison most deadly," said the squirrel, his tone cold. "You will feel a little prick, then-" the squirrel spread his paws "-you will feel nothing."

 

"Look, I know I'm a bit drunk, but I'm not going to feel your little prick. No offense- I just don't swing that way," said Hunter, backing up slightly as the squirrel moved forward.

  
"Is everything a joke to you, Monsieur Hunter?" said the squirrel, an exasperated tone creeping into his voice.

 

"Well, in fairness, you did pretty much set yourself up for that one."

 

"Perhaps. But it was not only myself that was, as you say, set up."

 

Hunter felt more than saw the small figure that leapt from the roof, holding a syringe that glittered as it caught the lamplight. Acting instinctively, he ducked, feeling tiny claws grip his hair.

 

" _En avant!_ " shouted a high-pitched voice. Hunter swung at the squirrel riding atop his head, but missed. However, his wild, surprised swing- in conjunction with the sudden extra weight throwing off his balance- caused him to topple over.

 

Well, being fairly drunk probably was a factor, too. Regardless, the squirrel lost his grip, rolling across the ground as Hunter scrambled to his feet. The rodent's beady eyes fixed on his as it glared at him. Hunter noticed another syringe gripped in its paws, and shuddered- all it needed to do was poke him...

 

Two more squirrels appeared on either side, while the first moved closer. "It will be much easier, Monsieur Hunter, if you just stop struggling," said the first squirrel.

 

"Easier for me?" said Hunter, backing up to try and keep all of them in his field of view. He was well into the street now- a quick glance showed him the small downtown area of the village was deserted.

 

In answer, the squirrel shrugged.

 

Hunter stood up and squared his shoulders- a little shakily, it must be admitted. He glared down at the advancing squirrels. "Are you guys really this stupid? Haven't you even heard of me?"

 

"We've heard all-" began their leader.

 

Hunter took a step towards them, now. The squirrels hesitated, two of the four taking nervous steps back. "You heard what I used to do on AlphaCen? I rode night shift in one of the toughest beats in a damned tough city. The survival rate for most officers was about three years." He took another step forward, the squirrels backing off nervously. "I lasted over _twenty_. I was the hunter, never the hunted."

 

The leader swallowed slightly, a note of trepidation creeping into his smug voice. "Ah, but that was then, Monsieur Hunter, and this is now. We are not like the others you may have fought."

 

"No." Hunter smiled at them, and they flinched. "You're a lot smaller, for one thing. And tasty, too. I know a pretty good recipe for squirrel- cook them in madeira, if I remember right."

 

The squirrels all glanced at one another queasily. "Barbarian," muttered one.

 

"Maybe. But the thing about barbarians is, we know how to fight." Hunter gauged their positions and stances carefully. He took one further step. The squirrels backed away slightly- leaving an opening. "And when not to," he added.

 

Hunter whirled and ran.

 

The squirrels gaped at him, until the leader recovered from his surprise. "After him! Do not let him escape!"

 

The thing was, everything Hunter had said was true. And while certainly he had learned to fight on the mean streets of AlphaCen, he had also learned the wisdom of not fighting. The squirrels were fast, small, mean, and he was somewhat drunk- he weaved slightly as he dashed away. And if just one connected with one of those syringes- well.

 

Hunter fled.

 

He glanced behind him. The squirrels were fast, but already appeared to be flagging- humans tended to have much more endurance than most other mammals, and the syringes the squirrels wielded were quite heavy for them. It looked like he was going to make it-

 

Suddenly, he felt something grasp his collar, jerking him off his feet. Quite literally- he was raised up in the air, then turned to face his captor.

 

Hunter grinned weakly as he looked into the narrowed eyes of Raymond Charger.

 

"Hello, Raymond," he said. "Wow, Bunnyburrow sure is popular with the tourists these days, huh?"

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Nick slumped in the passenger seat of the police cruiser. "Thanks for the ride," he said to the driver, Sheriff Gruff. "And the place to stay."

 

"No problem," said Gruff. "Not exactly a whole lot of hotels in this town, after all. I hope you don't mind the room- it's just a little one with a cot."

 

"Better than sleeping on the streets."

 

"True."

 

The radio crackled. "Hey, sheriff."

 

"Hey, Mosie," answered Gruff. "Long night?"

 

"Quiet, mostly. But there's a call coming in now. Might be a prank- claims a human is running around downtown, drunk."

 

Nick covered his eyes as the sheriff frowned. "Well, there is a human in town. Would he be likely to-" he looked at Nick who was carefully avoiding his gaze, and his frown deepened.

 

"He has a knack for getting into trouble," admitted Nick.

 

The sheriff's eyes narrowed, and he let out a snort of annoyance. "Okay, Mosie. We'll check it out on the way."

 

"Corner of Watership and Downs, near the old bakery. Let me know if you need back-up."

 

"Why? There's no one around to help anyway."

 

"There's deputy Fluff-"

 

"Like I said."

 

Gruff turned the patrol car around.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"Well done, Monsieur Charger," said Claude as he approached. He paused. "Though why are you shaking him upside-down like that?"

 

The rhino stopped. Hunter, still dangling upside-down, looked more than a bit green. "Turnabout is fair play."

 

Hunter pointed up at him groggily. "I see what you did there. Turnabout, because I'm upside down. I get it." He twisted to look at Claude as he approached. "Hey, let's start over."

 

"Cooked in madeira, Monsieur Hunter?" said Claude, his voice ominous. "Isn't that what you said?"

  
Hunter grimaced. "Would you prefer cabernet sauvignon?"

 

"No, of course not. I think a very light, sweet red would-" Claude noticed his brothers all eyeing him. "What?"

 

Etienne spoke up. "You've thought about this?"

 

"Merely as an exercise-"

  
"That's a bit strange, Claude."

 

The squirrel made a slashing motion with his paw. "It is no matter. Now." He gave Etienne a significant look. "It is time, Etienne."

 

The two squirrels started to advance on Hunter and Raymond.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Hunter stared at the two squirrels, and felt resigned.

He had tried. It wasn't exactly the end he had been expecting- psychotic squirrels with ridiculous accents had never really been something he had feared- but maybe it was the end he was going to get.

He'd never been religious. But maybe he'd at least get to see his daughters again.

The squirrels moved with a casual, but somehow cautious gait. Part of his mind wondered about that- what could he do to stop them, in his current condition? Why so careful?

His eyes traced the silvery gleam of the syringes, and something clicked.

 

"Hey, Raymond."

 

The squirrels paused as Raymond raised him up a bit higher to look at him. "Yeah? Any last words?"

 

"Yep. Just had a thought. Look at your buddies, there. See the syringes?"

 

The squirrels shifted uncomfortably as Raymond turned to look at them. "Yeah, they told me about it. Poisoned."

 

"One little prick, isn't that right?" Hunter twisted his head to look at them. "Yet there's two of them coming after me."

 

"So? And what about the syringes?"

 

"One of these things isn't like the other things," said Hunter. He pointed at Etienne. "That one is carrying a syringe that's a whole hell of a lot thicker."

 

"Thicker-" Raymond frowned.

 

Hunter decided not to make the obvious joke about Raymond's intelligence, proving that he could be smart once in a while. "Thicker. Like your skin. Why do you suppose they have a syringe that looks to be designed for a rhino?"

 

Raymond stared at him, then looked at the squirrels.

 

Claude didn't hesitate. "Now!" He and Etienne lunged forward, Etienne rushing towards the rhino's leg.

 

Raymond reacted, instinctively swinging at the killer squirrel. Unfortunately, he used the paw that was holding Hunter by the ankle.

 

Hunter saw stars as his head smacked into the squirrel, who was thrown into a nearby wall. Claude danced back as Raymond swung the human back at him. The other squirrels prepared to charge.

 

Raymond backed up against the wall.

 

A siren sounded down the street, and red and blue lights flickered across the scene.

 

Claude paused, then swore. "Retreat! _Gendarmes_!"

 

As the patrol car moved closer, the squirrels melted into the night, two of them helping Etienne up and disappearing down the alley.

 

The police car pulled up, and a spot-light fell on Raymond as he stared in surprise.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Nick and Gruff stared at the scene.

 

A rhinoceros held Hunter by an ankle, dangling him over the street below.

 

Nick and Gruff shared a glance, then jumped from the opposite sides of the patrol car. "Sheriff's department!" shouted Gruff. "Drop the human!"

 

"No, wait!" said Hunter, but it was too late. Raymond let go, causing Hunter to fall a couple of feet onto the hard concrete. The human groaned.

 

"Thanks, sheriff."

 

Nick was already approaching, cautiously watching the rhino, who seemed utterly confused. "Are you okay, Hunter?"

 

Shakily, the human clambered to his feet, swaying from side to side. "Maybe."

 

"Paws behind your back," ordered the sheriff.

 

Raymond, astonishingly, looked at Hunter, who nodded. "Don't worry," he told him. "I think we're on the same side right now."

 

Nick and Gruff traded confused looks.

 

The rhino allowed himself to be cuffed. Nick looked over Hunter, his eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

 

"Well," said Hunter, slurring his words slightly. "This is Raymond Charger."

 

"From the mob family?" said Nick, glancing at the rhino. "He tried to hurt you?"

 

"Well, more like succeeded. But it's okay. See, I was attacked by a group of assassin squirrels, and-"

 

"Did you say assassin squirrels?" asked Gruff, suspiciously.

 

Hunter looked at him. "Yeah, so?"

 

"Assassin squirrels."

 

"I take it that's not common?"

 

"No. Not exactly."

 

"Oh, good. I was worried that everyone knew about them and just hadn't told me." Hunter weaved as he made his way to the patrol car and leaned against it. "So anyway-"

 

Gruff approached him warily, sniffing the air. "Mr. Hunter, have you been drinking?"

 

"No! Well, yes. But there really are assassin squirrels, with syringes full of poison, see-"

  
Nick coughed. "Maybe you should save this for later, Hunter-"

 

Gruff eyed him. "So you were attacked by assassin squirrels, and a mobster rhino."

 

"Well, yeah, but I think the squirrels are after him, too-"

 

"Maybe you need to get a bit of rest, Mr. Hunter."

 

The human glared at him. "Look, Gruff, I-" he paused, suddenly turning green. "I-"

 

Then he threw up on Gruff's uniform.

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"This is not what I expected," muttered Hunter from within the jail cell.

 

Nick, who was lying on a cot just outside the cell, glanced at him. "Hunter, I kinda believe you, and this is exactly what I was expecting."

 

"Could you two keep it down?" asked Raymond, from the next cell over. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first of all, I'm sorry about the long delay. Been having a bit of a rough time of it lately, and so I haven't been in the mood much for writing. I'll try to speed it up a bit, though. I'd like to have this story done by early June at the latest.
> 
> The "cooking squirrel in madeira" is a very obscure reference. Anyone that gets it let me know- I'm genuinely curious. 
> 
> Thanks for reading- haven't said that in a while, so I figured I'd throw it in. I really appreciate the feedback, comments, and everything- it helps me to know folks are enjoying this.


	10. Chapter 10

Judy paced the living room of her home, glancing at the clock periodically. Tavi, who was playing a video game with some of her younger siblings, kept shooting worried looks at her. Thus far, she had decided not to say anything.

 

When Stuart had come home, he had immediately tossed his golf clubs in the corner next to the front door and stalked off to find Bonnie. Since then- almost two hours ago- Judy's parents hadn't come out of their room, though she could hear their voices periodically through the door.

 

Nick was nowhere to be found.

 

She started to reach for her cell phone again, remembering for the fifth time that Nick's phone was currently broken. The fact that was her fault didn't help her increasingly frustrated mood.

 

"Where is he?"

 

Tavi silently noted that this was the eleventh time she had said that. Cautiously, she replied. "I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he just went to find Zach."

 

Judy sat heavily in a chair. "At a bar?" she muttered. "Clearly things didn't go well."

 

"Have you tried calling Hunter?"

 

"Yes. Five times. He's not answering."

 

Tavi handed the controller over to one of the bunnies, who eagerly took over the game. "Maybe we should go look for them-"

 

Judy's phone rang.

 

Moving so fast Tavi barely had time to see her hit the "Answer" prompt, Judy had it to her ear. "Hello?"

 

"Carrots? It's me."

 

She let out a relieved sigh. "Nick? Where are you? What happened?"

 

"Um, well, things didn't go too well at the golf game," said the fox resignedly.

 

"I gathered." She heard another burst of shouting from her parent's room- it sounded like her dad- and winced. "What happened- wait, where are you, anyway?"

 

There was a long pause. "I'm at the jail."

 

Judy closed her eyes. "You're in jail."

 

"No, see, I knew you'd think that- I specifically said _at_ the jail, not in it. The preposition is very important."

  
"Okay. Why?"

 

"The sheriff had a spare room. Um, your dad and I- well, he found out what I used to do for a living, and sort of hit the roof."

 

Judy blinked. "How did he- why on earth would you tell him?"

 

"He said you told him! I thought he knew!" Nick's voice suddenly turned pensive. "Though I did kind of wonder about how well he took it."

 

Taking a deep breath, Judy thought it over. "Okay. Fine. We'll figure this out."

  
Tavi leaned forward. "What about Hunter? Has Nick heard from him?"

 

Nick apparently heard her. "Um, yeah. He's here with me."

 

"At the jail?"

 

Another long pause. "Different preposition."

  
Judy and Tavi shared a look, and Judy rubbed her forehead with a paw, trying to stave off a sudden headache. "He's in jail," she said flatly.

 

"Just public intoxication. Just until he sobers up."

 

"Public intoxication."

 

"Yeah, he- okay, look, this is important. He was attacked by some mob assassins, but the sheriff didn't believe him."

  
"Uh-huh. Imagine that." Judy's tone was still flat, the tone of someone who had given up on optimism, the only emotion remaining morbid curiosity about how bad things were going to get.

 

"They were squirrels," said Nick.

 

"Assassin squirrels," repeated Judy. Tavi blinked and flicked her ears in confusion.

 

"They apparently had thick French accents and were armed with poison needles," Nick continued, determined to persevere through the whole story.

 

"Right."

 

"They were going to betray the rhino mobster who Hunter shook down- he's here, too, in the jail- and so he's on our side now. He saved Hunter's life by hitting, er, them with, well, him."

  
"Hitting the squirrels with Hunter."

 

"Right."

 

"And now he wants us to keep the mobster here at my family's home."

 

"Yes," said Nick reluctantly.

 

"And we can expect an imminent attack from poison-bearing assassin squirrels."

 

"That more or less sums it up." There was a long silence as he waited. "Are you okay, Judy?"

 

She hung up and stared at her phone.

 

Tavi smiled nervously. "It could be worse," she offered.

 

Judy just looked at her.

 

She coughed and looked away. "So, um, it's a bit unbelievable, huh?"

 

"That's the worst part," said Judy. "I believe every word."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Etienne let out a groan as one of his brothers popped his dislocated shoulder back into place. " _Merde,_ " he muttered. He glared at Claude. "What do we do now? The rhino, he is alert."

 

The leader of the assassins glared back. "We continue with the contract. We are the best, Etienne. The rhino is stupid, the human- well, he is wiser than I expected."

 

"He'll be waiting for us now," warned Pierre.

 

"Then he will have time to contemplate his fate," said Claude, his voice confident. He pulled out a cell phone. "We will summon reinforcements."

 

He dialed, and after a moment a voice answered. " _Bonjour?"_

 

"Francois? It looks like we will need your help after all."

 

" _C'est la vie._ How many should I bring?"

 

Claude looked at Etienne, who was shakily rising to his feet. "Everyone." He smiled.

 

"And bring the special weapons, as well."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Hunter blinked at the sunlight shining through the barred window of the cell. He stretched and got up, wincing slightly as strained muscles twinged. He walked to the door of the cell and looked out at Nick, sleeping on a nearby cot. "Hey, wake up."

 

Nick mumbled something and rolled over.

 

"Nick. Wake up!"

 

The fox didn't stir.

 

Hunter took off his shoe and took aim.

 

"Ow!" said Nick. He sat up, and looked around in confusion until he saw the shoe lying next to him. "Did you just throw your shoe at me?"

 

"Go get the sheriff and tell him to let me and Ray out of here. We've got to get a move-on." Hunter glanced at the rhino, sleeping in the next cell over, as Raymond let out a loud snore. "Got hit-squirrels to outwit."

 

Grumbling, Nick put on his shoes. "Since when are you in such a hurry in the morning?"

 

"It's amazing how having someone trying to kill you provides motivation."

 

"I'll remember that the next time it's your turn to take out the trash," muttered Nick.

 

As Hunter started to reply, the door to the jail area opened and Deputy Fluff walked in. He gave Nick an unfriendly look before turning an even harder glare on Hunter and Raymond. "Sheriff says you're free to go."

  
Hunter nodded. "Great, let us out then."

 

Fluff shrugged. "Door's unlocked."

 

The human rolled his eyes. "I mean out of the cells."

  
"I know."

 

Hunter peered at him, then looked at the cell door, then back at the deputy. Cautiously, he pushed on the door.

 

It swung open.

 

"Lost the key about five years ago," said Fluff. He walked to the small corner desk and sat down, putting his feet up.

 

Hunter walked out of the cell and looked back at it. "You don't lock the cells."

 

"Well, can't, actually. No key, like I said," replied Fluff.

 

For a long moment, Hunter stared at him, then with a sigh walked into Raymond's cell. He nudged the sleeping rhino with his foot. "Rise and shine."

 

Raymond shook his head as he blinked his way to consciousness. He frowned as he focused his gaze on Hunter, standing over him. "Wasn't I supposed to kill you?"

 

"Yeah, but we're friends now. Try to keep up." He looked at Nick. "So how are we getting back to Judy's place?"

 

Nick shrugged. "Walk?"

 

"Long way to walk."

 

"Sheriff called someone to come get you," said Fluff, who was listening with half an ear- he literally had one ear half-swiveled towards them. "He should be here any minute."

 

A fox, wearing overalls and a flannel shirt, poked his head in the office. "Hey, deputy. You said someone needed a ride to the Hopps's place?"

 

The three other mammals all looked at him curiously as Fluff replied. "That's right, Gideon. This is Hunter, the fox is Wilde, and the rhino is-" he paused, trying to remember the rhino's name.

 

"Who are you, exactly?" asked Hunter suspiciously as Fluff hesitated.

 

The newcomer walked in and extended a paw. "Gideon Grey. I work with Stuart sometimes, and I was headed his way. The sheriff asked if I minded giving you a lift."

 

Hunter shook his paw. "Okay," he said dubiously. "And you don't mind?"

 

"Well, if you don't mind riding in the back of my delivery van. Heard you're friends of Judy's." He looked slightly embarrassed. "I reckon I owe her a favor or two."

 

Now it was Nick's turn to look suspicious. "Why?"

 

Grey coughed. "Ancient history."

 

"Well, okay," said Hunter. He looked at Nick. "We do need a ride."

 

They all followed Gideon outside. Raymond, who was still somewhat surly from being awakened, brightened somewhat when he saw the van. "You're a baker?"

 

"Yep. Best pies in Bunnyburrow," said Gideon. "Or at least, I try."

 

"Get in the van, Ray. We need to talk." Hunter gave the rhino a slight shove, which he completely failed to notice.

 

Nick looked at the dimensions of the van, compared it to the size of Raymond, and made a decision. "I'll ride up front."

 

Hunter shrugged. "Fair enough. I'll talk to the rhino, fill you in later." He walked to the rear of the van, followed by Raymond. "Let's go."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Judy poked her head into the travel trailer. "Tavi?"

 

The mongoose looked up from where she was standing near Hunter's luggage, surprised. "Judy? What's up?"

 

The bunny blinked at her. "What are you doing in here?"

 

"Packing," she said, unfazed. "Hunter called me from the- Hunter called me. He's planning to leave as soon as possible."

 

"Leave?" Judy stepped up into the trailer, wrinkling her nose slightly at the odor of fish inside. "He's leaving?"

 

Tavi zipped one of Hunter's bags closed. "He wants to get away from here- because of the assassins," she added hastily. "He's worried someone else might get hurt."

 

Judy frowned, irritated. "I think we've shown we can take care of ourselves-"

 

"Not you or Nick," said Tavi. She looked at Judy. "Your family."

 

Feeling suddenly ashamed, Judy nodded. "Oh."

 

"Though I'm sure he wouldn't want you two in the cross-fire, either." Tavi eyed her. "You want to see something strange?"

 

"After everything else that's been going on? No."

 

Tavi ignored her, hopping up onto a small table. "Look at this."

 

She held up a framed document. Judy looked at it curiously. "An award? So what? Lots of people frame their awards."

  
Tavi shook her head. "It's not Hunter's." She handed it to Judy. "It's yours."

 

Judy blinked as she read it. "Citation- Medal of Valor-" she read. She looked up at Tavi. "Why on earth does he have one of my citations framed?"

 

"Not just you." She showed another one. "This is mine. There's some of Nick's, and then some from FLPD. Arrizondo, Warner, Nguyen-"

 

"What about for him?"

 

"None that I've found. Though for all I know he's never gotten any."

 

Judy put the award down, puzzled. "Strange."

  
"I know, right?" Tavi hopped down and looked up at her friend. "So what's up?"

 

Judy sighed. "Nick, Hunter, and the low-life criminal they've suddenly befriended are on the way back."

 

"Okay, good!" Then Tavi paused. "Oh. Your parents."

 

"They want to have a talk with me," said Judy ominously. "Dad seems pretty upset, and even Mom doesn't seem happy."

 

"They were going to find out about Nick's past sooner or later," said Tavi.

 

"Were they?" Judy shook her head. "Maybe, maybe not. I just wish they could seem him for who he really is, now, not what he used to be."

  
"They just need to get to know him," Tavi said reassuringly. "He's a good mammal, and they'll see that in time."

  
"That's just what I'm worried about," said Judy quietly. "Will they see that in time? Or is it too late already?"

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"So Mr. Big wants me dead?" said Hunter to Raymond. His eyes narrowed. "I'm not paying for that pie."

 

The rhino looked at him, wiping cherry filling from his mouth. "I haven't eaten breakfast."

 

"You know this Grey character is doing us a favor, right? Besides, pie isn't exactly the healthiest first meal of the day."

 

"Who cares?" said Raymond. His tone turned somber. "We're just going to be killed by the squirrels anyway."

 

Hunter shook his head. "Nope. You're not going to die because you're a key witness. And I'm not going to die because I will not have 'killed by assassin squirrels with ridiculous accents' on my gravestone."

 

"I don't think they'd put that on your gravestone."

 

"First of all, that was a joke, and second, yes they would." Hunter leaned back. "Mr. Big is the top dog in the Zootopian underworld, huh?"

 

"Shrew."

  
"Stop being so literal, it annoys me. What's the big deal, anyway? Why risk going to war over a measly five hundred bucks?"

 

Raymond shrugged. "Beats me. I mean, you did embarrass his whole organization by shaking me down."

 

"Yeah, but- there's something else going on here. Even the syndicates on AlphaCen think twice before messing with the cops," said Hunter thoughtfully.

 

"And more importantly," said Raymond, who appeared to have not heard him, "why'd they go after me?"

 

"Well, that's easy. You're the fall guy."

 

"The what?"

 

"The patsy. The dupe. The scapegoat."

 

"I'm a rhino, not a goat."

 

Hunter eyed him. "You okay with dupe?"

 

Raymond considered it, then nodded. "Sure."

  
"Thought so."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Gideon cleared his throat. "So you're Judy's partner in the ZPD, huh?"

"Yes," said Nick warily.

 

There was a slight pause. "And her, um, partner?" said Gideon, carefully.

 

Nick raised his eyebrows. "Where'd you hear that?" he asked, keeping his voice noncommittal.

 

"Rumor spreads fast in a small town. Oh, sure, her parents don't talk about it, but- they have a lot of kits."

  
"Ah." Nick considered lying, but decided it wasn't worth it. "Yeah, we've been together for a while now."

  
"Okay," said Gideon. "As long as you're happy."

  
Nick eyed him. It wasn't entirely unusual to have someone accept he and Judy's relationship, but it was enough of an oddity that it made him suspicious. "You're okay with that?"

 

Gideon shrugged. "None of my business, really. But sure, I think it's fine."

 

Nick looked out the window. "Wish everyone thought that way."

 

"I think most mammals are coming around. It's hard to stay angry at folks for just being happy."

 

"You would think so," said Nick quietly.

 

After a moment, Gideon spoke again. "It's not really my business, but- it's Bonnie and Stuart, huh?"

 

"A bit," admitted Nick. He looked at Gideon speculatively. "You said you work with them."

 

"Yep."

 

"And you get along fine."

 

"Sure do."

 

"And you're a fox."

  
Gideon smiled. "I think I see where you're going with that."

 

Nick rolled his eyes. "So?"

 

For a while, Gideon didn't say anything, concentrating on his driving. Finally, he spoke. "I had some issues when I was growing up. I even-" he hesitated, casting a nervous look at Nick before continuing "-bullied Judy when we were children."

 

Nick felt an instinctive, protective anger, but forced it down- it was clearly long in the past. "I see," he said slowly.

 

Gideon appeared relieved. "So it was sort of an uphill battle for me. Real easy for me to blame other mammals for my bad behavior- and it becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. I acted badly, other folks didn't like me for it, and I would see it as confirmation that I wasn't going to get a fair shake. Makes you bitter."

 

Nick stiffened, hearing his own thoughts from so long ago put so neatly into words.

 

"It took getting into a fair bit of trouble for me- and seeing a therapist for a while- for me to realize how self-destructive I was being," continued Gideon. He blinked, then looked at Nick. "Not that I'm saying you are anything like I was- I mean, you're a big hero. I'm just saying-"

 

Nick shook his head. "Don't worry about it. So how did you manage to get on Stuart and Bonnie's good side?"

 

"I changed," he said simply. "And it wasn't just a matter of telling everyone I was a better mammal. I had to prove it, too. I worked hard, made amends where I could, and kept my word. It took time, but- you can't change someone's mind by living up- or down- to their expectations."

 

Nick sighed. "Sometimes you can't change someone's mind at all."

 

Gideon nodded. "Sure. But what else can you do?" He glanced at Nick, noting the other fox's downcast expression. "Maybe you got off on the wrong paw with Bonnie and Stuart. But they'll come around. Just show them what kind of mammal you are."

  
Nick sighed. "I-"

 

"That's odd."

 

Nick looked at Gideon curiously. "What?"

 

The other fox was frowning at his driver's side mirror. "Not often you see that," he said, musingly.

 

"What?" Nick looked at the other mirror, but the angle was wrong- he could barely see behind them at all.

 

"A motorcycle gang in Bunnyburrow. Especially a squirrel motorcycle gang."

 

"Squirrel?"

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Hunter was watching Raymond engulf his fourth pie when he heard a clanging noise from the back of the van. He and the rhino both frowned at the back door. "What-"

 

A squirrel's face appeared in the small window, which grinned nastily when it saw them. Hunter swore and jumped up, grabbing one of the interior shelves for balance.

 

The van's doors swung open and a squirrel hopped inside.

 

Hunter grabbed the first thing he could reach and threw it at the squirrel.

 

The croissant flew true, striking the squirrel dead center and knocking it out of the van with a surprised squeak.

 

"The squirrels!" shouted Raymond in terror. "They found us!"

 

"You're going to be extremely embarrassed if those turn out to be your last words," said Hunter. He peered out the doors, and stared in astonishment.

 

About a score of squirrels riding tiny motorcycles closed on the van. Several had side cars.

 

Hunter shook his head. "I hate this planet."

 

"Monsieur Hunter!" shouted one squirrel, his eyes hidden behind tiny, adorable goggles. "We meet again!"

 

"Howdy, Claude," shouted Hunter. He reached back and grabbed a cream pie. He looked at his improvised weapon and sighed before turning back to Claude. "Don't come any closer or I'll cream you!"

 

Raymond chuckled. "I get it, because it's a cream pie-"

 

"Don't explain the joke, Ray. It wasn't very good to start with."

 

"Monsieur Hunter!" Claude revved his motorcycle closer. Another one, with a sidecar, kept pace. "If you jump out now, then I will spare your friends! Otherwise-" the squirrel gave an expressive shrug, one paw raised palm-upwards. "I can leave no witnesses."

 

In answer, Hunter threw the pie. Claude swerved, narrowly avoiding it.

 

Hunter looked at Raymond. "Don't worry- they can't stick us with those poison syringes from here."

 

The squirrel in the sidecar raised something to his shoulder, something that looked suspiciously like a squirrel-sized rocket launcher.

 

Hunter and Raymond shared a surprised look before diving to the floor of the van as the squirrel fired.

 

They heard the a hissing sound and a thump above them. They both looked up to see a dart shivering in the roof of the van. Hunter had no doubt it was poisoned, too.

 

" _A l'attaque!_ " shouted Claude. The roadway filled with the sound of revving motorcycles.

 

"I really, really hate this planet," muttered Hunter.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I would really like this series to take off a bit more in the fandom, and partly that's because I, like anyone, appreciate recognition. Mostly, however, it's because maybe then someone with drawing talent will do fan art of scenes like this. I love the mental image of twenty squirrels on motorcycles, with Hunter throwing pies and other baking goods at them. 
> 
> As a quick side-note- I noticed a while ago that I rather consistently referred to Sahara Square as Savannah Square in the prior stories. I have no idea why. I'll be fixing that error in the future. My apologies if that mistake annoyed anyone too much :)


	11. Chapter 11

Judy had finally had enough. Screwing up her courage- it was amazing how one's parents could make you feel so small, no matter how old you were- she prepared to march to her parent's door and knock. She had to know what was going on.

 

She had barely taken one step from the spacious living area when Bonnie and Stuart appeared from the hallway.

 

They saw her and stopped. "Judy," said Stuart firmly. "We need to talk to you."

 

"I was just about to say the same thing," said Judy, standing her ground. "Listen, I don't know what happened with you and Nick-"

 

"What happened, Judy, is that he told me what he was before he was a cop," said Stuart icily. "A con artist? What on earth makes you think you can trust him?"

 

"Because he's proved it many times, Dad!"

 

"Judy," said her mother, her tone calm but worried, "that's exactly what mammals like that do. They make you think you can trust them, then when you least expect it, when it serves their purpose, they betray you." She shook her head. "And worse, you've been friends with him almost since you met. You didn't even wait to see what kind of mammal he was."

 

Judy took a deep breath, counting down from ten in her head as Bonnie finished. "That's not true, mom," she said. "The Night Howler case- I couldn't have done it without him. And since then- well, he's-" she hesitated. "He's always been there for me," she finished, changing it from "he's saved my life". No since in bringing that up again-

 

Apparently the subtext did not go unnoticed, however. "That's another thing. We know your job can be dangerous, but it's only been a few years," said Bonnie. "But what sorts of cases are you getting into? You never explained what happened during that first time, with the bomb on the train, or the Raid. A lot of officers were killed- how were you involved? What do they have you doing?" Her voice broke slightly at the end, and Stuart gave her a concerned look.

 

Judy looked away, unsure how to respond. "There's just been a lot of strange stuff going on recently, mom. What with the humans showing up and all. But you have to understand, most of the time it's not like that. Most of the time, things are pretty normal."

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"You need to drive faster!" shouted Nick as he stuck his head out the window. Behind him, he saw several squirrels catching up to the bakery truck.

 

Gideon's eyes were wide, and he kept glancing at his mirrors. "What in the blazes is going on here?"

 

"It's a long story. The bottom line is that those are assassins who are trying to kill Hunter- the human."

 

Gideon gaped at him. "What?"

 

Nick threw up his paws in frustration. "Okay, new bottom line. Drive faster!"

 

The rear view mirror on Nick's side suddenly shattered, and he ducked. Gideon blinked, then slammed on the accelerator.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"Custard," said Ray, handing another pie to Hunter.

 

"You don't actually have to tell me what it is," said Hunter as he threw it at the pursuing squirrels. He'd only hit one so far, but he was frequently forcing them to swerve, throwing off their aim and causing them to lose a bit of ground.

 

The pie splashed, and his target swerved slightly too late, the wheels sliding in the pie. The squirrel skidded out of control and off the roadway.

 

"See?" said Ray. "Custard is more likely to make them skid." He handed another pie to Hunter. "Cherry."

 

Hunter glared at him, then stood up to toss the pie. Just as he did, the van abruptly accelerated, and he lost his balance, falling forward towards the roadway behind them.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"We're coming up on the Hopps farm now," said Gideon, his voice strained.

 

Nick glanced out the window again. The small motorcycles didn't seem able to keep up with the much larger van- they were falling behind a bit. "Maybe you shouldn't lead them to Judy's place-" he began.

 

He was cut off as Gideon swerved into a turn. He just barely had time to realize it was the turn-off to the Hopps farm before he was thrown against the side of the van.

 

"What were you saying?" asked Gideon as he managed to reorient himself.

 

"I was saying," said Nick, "that we probably shouldn't lead them to Judy's place! We don't want to lead a bunch of assassin's to them!"

 

"Oh," said Gideon. "Didn't think of that."

 

"Well, whatever. Take another turn. We'll think of something," said Nick. He looked back out the window again.

 

"Um. Look, I'm not really good at this sort of thing. So. Um."

 

Nick frowned at Gideon. "What? Spit it out."

  
"That was the last turn to the farm. It's just a straight shot from here."

 

The fox swore under his breath. "Then drive past it."

  
"The road ends at the farm." Gideon quailed at his glare. "I'm sorry!"

 

"Fine," said Nick. "It can't really get any worse at least."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

 _Well_ , thought Hunter, _it could be worse._

 

He had managed to catch himself, after all. So instead of hitting the ground and rolling at around sixty miles per hour, he was instead clinging onto the back of a van moving at that speed. By swinging his feet up, he had even managed to keep from being dragged along, which would have been pretty painful.

 

And the squirrels appeared to be out of range of their bazooka dart launcher things.

 

On the other hand, it could be a lot better, as well.

 

Ray's face appeared above him. "Are you okay?" he asked, apparently seriously.

 

Hunter shook his head. "Give me a paw, will you?"

 

The rhino helped him back into the van. Hunter looked back at their pursuers. "Well, it looks like we're losing them. Thank God that's over." He then paused, looking around at the scenery. "Hey, isn't this the road to Judy's house?"

 

"Who?"

 

"And that road dead-ends at the farm," said Hunter, frowning. "In fact-"

 

The van slammed to a halt, and he and Raymond were thrown towards the front of the cargo compartment.

 

Hunter picked himself up off the floor, wiping the remnants of a blueberry pie that had fallen on his head from his face. "Remind me not to tip the driver," he muttered.

 

He looked out the back.

 

In the distance, he could hear the whining of tiny motorcycles.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"Um, Judy?"

 

Tavi had wanted to walk out of the room when her friend confronted Bonnie and Stuart, but hadn't been able to get by them. So instead, she had- as unobtrusively as possible- stayed quietly by the front of the room and looked out the window, trying not to listen in. Which is why she saw the bakery van skid to a halt in front of the house.

 

Nick and another fox jumped out of the van, quickly joined by Hunter- what was all that blue stuff on him?- and a rhinoceros. Without looking back, they all ran towards the house.

 

"Judy!"

 

All three of the rabbits turned to her. "What is it, Tavi?" asked Judy, barely keeping her tone civil.

 

The front door burst open.

 

Nick flung himself through, stopping short when the three Hopps's eyes swung to him. His own eyes widened in surprise and trepidation. "Um-"

 

He was knocked to the ground by Gideon when the plump fox failed to see him. The two foxes crashed to the ground.

 

Finally, Hunter came through the door. Or tried, at least. It was larger than would necessarily be expected, so that the Hoppses could have larger species as guests, but it was still intended for much smaller animals than a human. Hunter made it a good portion of the way before getting wedged in place about halfway through the door.

 

"Well, damn," he muttered.

 

Judy, Bonnie, and Stuart gaped at the sudden deluge of unexpected arrivals. "What is going on?" said Bonnie, the first to recover.

 

Nick shouldered Gideon off from on top of him and jumped to his feet. "Squirrels!" he explained.

 

There was a short silence.

 

"That's really not a clear answer," said Bonnie.

 

"Is that some kind of street slang?" demanded Stuart.

 

Judy, however, blinked, her ears snapping up. "The assassins?"

 

"The what?" asked Stuart, still gaping at Hunter, who grunted as he tried to get through the door.

 

"They're right behind us," said Nick. He saw Hunter. "Hunter! Why the hell did you try to come in the door?"

 

"I don't know, I was just following all of you guys." He looked around. "Nice place, though."

 

Judy hurried towards him. "Come on, help me get him inside." The inside of the living room was at least large enough for him to fit, though he'd never be able to get further inside the house. She tugged at Hunter. "This all comes from eating too much," she told him.

 

He tried sucking in his gut a bit more. "This all comes from front doors not being big enough," he said.

 

Tavi, meanwhile, was still looking out the window as Nick and Judy- soon joined by a confused Gideon, Bonnie, and Stuart- continued yanking at Hunter. "They're here!" she shouted to them. She blinked. "There's something like a couple dozen of them."

  
"Nah, only about twenty, maybe a few. I nailed a couple of them with baked goods."

 

"You what?" said Gideon. " _My_ baked goods?"

 

"Really not the time!"

 

Finally, Hunter managed to turn enough to slide through the front door. He scrambled on his hands and feet inside and the other mammals slammed the door shut and locked it.

 

"Wait a minute," said Nick, suddenly realizing something. "Where's Raymond?"

 

"The rhino?" said Tavi. "He ran into the trailer."

 

Everyone looked at Hunter.

 

"What?"

 

"The trailer," said Nick, exasperated. "You could have run into the trailer."

 

Hunter blinked. "Oh, right."

 

A voice called to them from outside. "Monsieur Hunter!"

 

Stuart blinked. "The assassin squirrels are French?"

 

"Apparently," said Gideon. He squinted at Nick. "Is this sort of thing common in the city?"

 

Hunter, crouching slightly to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, sidled up to the window. "Claude? I think it's time for you to give up, now."

 

" _Au contraire,_ Hunter. Do you think a few little bunnies will save you?" Hunter spotted the squirrel, taking off his helmet as he approached the house. "I am not afraid of them, Hunter, nor of you. But I am willing to parley."

 

"Well, I suppose I'll accept your surrender," shouted Hunter. "Just throw down your weapons and line up outside with your paws on your head."

 

The squirrel chuckled, a high-pitched chittering sound. "Most amusing, as always. No, here is my offer. You- and the rhino- come out and we will spare the lives of the others. Do not, and-" the squirrel spread his paws and shrugged. "Their blood will be on your paws, Hunter."

 

Hunter closed his eyes. "There are children in here, Claude."

  
"And I have no wish to harm them," called the squirrel. "Come out, Hunter. There is no other way."

 

The human hesitated, then started moving towards the door.

 

Judy stepped in front of him. "What are you doing?"

 

Hunter stopped, looking down at her. "You heard him, Judy. I'm not letting you guys pay for my mistakes."

 

"They're going to kill you," said Judy. Bonnie and Stuart watched her with wide eyes.

 

Hunter shrugged. "So?"

 

"What?" cried Tavi. "Zach!"

 

The human turned towards her, stabbed a finger in her direction. "Enough people- mammals- have died because of me, Tavi." He looked away. "Remember Hart?"

 

The lawyer who Hunter had been forced to shoot by Lucas. "Zach, it wasn't your fault."

 

"My finger on the trigger, Anila." He turned towards the door and put his hand on the knob. "I'm sorry."

 

Nick grabbed his arm and yanked it from the door. "Zach, they're going to kill us all anyway. They can't afford to leave witnesses."

 

Hunter stopped, then his shoulders slumped. "Damn. You're right."

 

Judy shook her head. "We've got to fight."

 

"There's too many of them- they're small, quick. And all they have to do is stick you with one of those syringes," said Hunter.

 

"Then we've got to slow them down- if they can't move, then they can't dodge," said Judy. Nick frowned, thinking.

 

"How are we going to do that?" asked Hunter.

 

Nick snapped his fingers. "Tavi, did you do that shopping for Hunter?"

 

She stared at him. "Um, yes, but why-"

 

"I've got a plan."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Francois stood next to the door, one ear pressed up against it. "I can hear them, Claude. They are planning something..."

 

Claude was standing on the back of Etienne, trying to pick the lock as quietly as he could. They had considered coming in through the windows, but he was well aware of their strengths- the small windows would constrict their movements too much. "What are they saying?"

 

Francois made a shushing gesture. "The fox has a plan. There is- there is a back door."

  
" _Non_. We have checked-"

 

"A hidden back door. A- how do you say?- a bolt-hole." The squirrel looked to Claude. "They are going to flee."

 

Claude swore. "If they do, we will find them. But some may escape." He was well aware that he could afford to leave none alive- though killing Hopps and Wilde might annoy Mr. Big, having witnesses would anger him even more. "We must- there!"

 

The tumblers aligned and the lock slid open with a _snick_. Claude glanced at the other squirrels. "We will rush them. Kill Hunter first." He turned the handle of the door and threw it open.

 

Two of the bunnies were disappearing down a hallway. The squirrels rushed in, and stopped as they saw Hunter- too large to fit down the passage- crouched in a corner of the living room. He clutched a golf club in one hand, though it seemed likely he'd have a hard time swinging it in the tight confines of the room. Claude grinned, walking forwards to join his fellow squirrels. "So, Monsieur Hunter. Nowhere to run now, is there?"

 

The human glanced from side to side as the rest of the squirrels moved in, his face hard. As the final few assassins came in, all clutching their syringes, their attention wholly on him, he let the club fall to the floor with a sigh. "No, there isn't. Bit of a sticky situation."

 

Claude smiled. "Indeed. Though I am not familiar with the idiom, I think I understand." He moved to take another step- and found his foot would not move. Frowning, he looked down.

 

"In this case, it's actually not an idiom," said Hunter easily. He picked up the golf club again and eyed the squirrels. "I meant it literally."

 

Two of the other squirrels tried to leap at him, and fell face-first to the floor when their legs wouldn't move. They tried to get up, and found they were also stuck to the floor.

 

Claude blinked as he realized there was some sort of clear substance coating the floor. "What is this?"

 

A mongoose popped her head up from behind the couch. She held up a large, clear, _empty_ bottle. "Professional quality modelling glue. Guaranteed to bond anything to anything, quick."

 

Two more heads appeared. Claude recognized them as Hopps and Wilde. "Well," said the fox, stepping out from behind a recliner. He, too, was wielding a golf club. "I think it's time we- what was that word you used- oh, right." He smiled down at Claude, who flinched at the sharp, white teeth. "Parley, _n'est-ce pas?"_

 

Hunter blinked at him. "You speak French?"

 

The fox shrugged back. "A little."

 

Claude snarled and reached to his back, grabbing the dart launcher he carried. He twisted to aim at Hunter, whose eyes widened in surprise as he tried to back up. "Not so funny now, are you, Hunter?"

 

Nick took a step forward and swung the golf club.

 

It struck the dart launcher perfectly, ripping it from Claude's hands and sending it flying against the far wall. The squirrel let out a squeak of surprise and pain and fell to the floor. He stared in shock at Nick.

 

Hunter nodded approvingly. "Not bad, Nick. Good shot."

  
"It's all in the follow-through," said Nick modestly. He looked down at Claude, who found his back now stuck to the floor. "Now, let's do a little negotation. You and your friends here- including any outside- give up."

 

"Or?" asked Claude, more out of form than anything else.

 

"Or I hit you with this golf club until my arm gives out."

 

Claude regarded him bitterly. "Not a very subtle negotatior, are you?"

 

Nick grinned. "Nope. Just sly."

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Gruff stood in the yard, taking in the scene.

 

Fluff was leading a line of squirrels- carpet still stuck to their feet where they'd been cut from the floor- into a jail van borrowed from a neighboring county.

 

In front of the Hopps farm burrow, Gideon was shaking his head as he walked around his van, noting the damage- minimal to the vehicle, pretty much total to his baked goods. From his muttered comments, Gruff was under the impression that Hunter was going to have a heck of a bill.

 

Hunter himself was standing next to the travel trailer, wiping his face with a wet towel. For some reason, he was covered in pie filling. Gruff considered that thoughtfully before filing it under the "I don't want to know" section of his mind.

 

And then there were the Hopps.

 

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" shouted Stuart. He stabbed a finger accusingly at Nick, who took a step back. "It's him that's getting you into this!"

 

"Now, wait a minute-" said the fox heatedly. "This is not my fault!"

 

"He saved our lives!" said Judy, her paws on her hips as she glared at her father.

 

"After putting them at risk! Consorting with mobsters," Stuart said, casting a glare at a nearby rhinoceros, "And humans, and, and-"

 

"Mongoosen," said Hunter, walking up. "Also lions, tigers and bears. Oh, my."

 

Stuart whirled on him. "This is none of your business, Mr. Hunter."

 

"Actually, Mr. Hopps, it is. Because, quite frankly, this is my fault," said Hunter quietly.

 

"Your fault?"

 

"It's a long story, but yeah. Don't worry, though. I'm leaving today." He turned to walk towards the trailer, paused. He looked over his shoulder. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

 

He walked away, Stuart staring after him.

 

The mongoose, Tavi, spoke up. "Mr. Hopps, Mrs. Hopps- it's not like that. It's just when you're a cop- you have to looking for trouble. And sometimes it ends up finding you, first."

 

"That's exactly the point," said Bonnie sadly. She looked at Nick meaningfully. Tavi frowned, then hurried off towards Hunter's trailer.

  
The fox's eyes narrowed. "Okay, that's it." He stepped forward and looked Stuart and Bonnie in the eyes.

 

"Yeah, I used to be a con artist. I'm not going to make any excuses for it. I grew up thinking the world hated me and there wasn't any reason for me not to hate it back." He turned to look at Judy. "Until one day a dumb little bunny showed me different." Their eyes met, and she smiled at him.

 

He shook his head ruefully. "I'm not saying I don't have a ways to go. Sometimes I'm not sure what would make someone as wonderful as Judy stick around with me. But I know I'm making something out of myself, something more than I ever would have before, and it's all because of her."

 

Nick met their eyes again. "I love her more than anyone or anything else in the world. I'd die for her. More than that, I'm trying to live for her. Isn't that enough?"

 

Gruff, still unnoticed by the rest of the mammals, sniffed a bit. No doubt due to allergies.

 

Bonnie and Stuart shared a look, unspoken words passing between them. She looked at Nick, eyeing him carefully. "Those are fine words, Mr. Wilde. And heartfelt, I don't doubt. But she's our daughter. And so far, all the evidence we've seen is that she's in constant danger. What proof is there that what you said is more than words?"

 

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat. "I think I might can help with that," said Tavi nervously.

 

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. Ears laid back, tail quivering, she held up a framed letter in front of her and began reading.

 

"Attention to Orders," she read. "During the course of an investigation into several missing mammals, Officers Judy Hopps and Nicholas Wilde discovered the location of some twenty four missing mammals, who were being held and tortured by operatives from the Human Stars."

 

Stuart and Bonnie gasped in shock and horror. Judy blinked. "Tavi, wait."

 

Ignoring her, Tavi continued, her voice growing stronger as she read. "These suspects, when discovered, elected to try and cover the evidence of their crimes by murdering the innocent mammals they held prisoner. Officers Hopps and Wilde, with complete disregard of their own safety, made a dynamic entry into the building that was defended by multiple heavily armed and highly trained suspects. Once inside, unable to be supported by other units due to the continuing violent resistance of the suspects, Hopps and Wilde successfully engaged a 'fire-team', neutralizing the suspects. They then located and protected the captive mammals, defending them against further attacks and sustaining multiple injuries in the process. Despite their injuries, they held until relieved by fellow ZPD officers."

 

Stuart stared at Judy, his mouth open. Bonnie was crying silently. Judy took a step towards them.

 

"Their actions were in accord with the highest traditions of the ZPD, and its mission to protect and serve. They are hereby awarded with the ZPD Medal of Valor," finished Tavi, her voice shaky. She lowered the award. "You never heard the whole thing, because it was classified," she explained.

 

Judy looked at her parents, her eyes wide. Both of them seemed paralyzed, stunned. "Mom, dad- I didn't want you to worry-" she said softly.

 

Stuart stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "That's my girl!"

 

His wife lunged forward to join the hug. "That's amazing, Judy!"

 

Judy widened her eyes in surprise. "You're not worried?"

 

Bonnie pulled back a bit, enough to look her in the eye. "Of course we are!" She touched Judy's cheek with her paw. "We worry all the time. But- Judy, we had no idea." She hugged her again, squeezing her eyes shut. "We had no idea you were such a hero."

 

"You saved so many lives," said Stuart. "And while I don't want to lose you- it makes me a bit happier to know you're risking it in a good cause."

 

Judy brushed away a tear. "Thanks, dad."

 

Nick, looking uncomfortable, started to sidle away. Before he took more than a couple of steps, though, Stuart spotted him. "Wilde!"

 

Nick spun to face him. "Um. Yes?"

 

Stuart, finally letting go of Judy, walked up to the taller mammal and looked into his eyes. "You were there, with her?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Stuart nodded, then took a deep breath. He looked back at Bonnie, who gave him a slow nod. He turned to Nick again. "Thanks," he said, his voice slightly rough with emotion. "For being there with her."

 

Nick looked at him seriously. "I always will be."

 

Bonnie walked up to stand beside her husband and searched Nick's face intently. "Is that a promise, Mr. Wilde?"

 

"Yes." He smiled slightly. "A promise from a fox."

 

They both smiled back. "Well," said Stuart finally. "I guess that's good enough for me." He extended a paw, which Nick took.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

"Hey, Hunter," said Tavi.

 

They were both in his trailer. He looked up from his bag. "Hey, rookie." He blinked. "Is that my-" he stopped.

 

"Your framed commendation for Nick and Judy?" She handed it to him. "Yep."

 

He gave her a suspicious look before taking it. "Thanks. I guess."

 

"Why do you have them?"

 

The human paused, looking down at the commendation letter. "You know how my kids were taken away when they were both real young?" At her nod, he continued. "I always used to see the other guys with pictures of their kids getting awards, or trophies for sports or spelling bees or whatever, and, well." He carefully put the letter away in his bag. "The closest thing I had to kids were my rookies. I'd train them, try to teach them how to stay alive, pass on my knowledge to them and hope they made it through."

 

"They were like your children, then. So when they did good- you kept their awards," said Tavi.

 

"It made me feel like I was making a difference. That maybe, just maybe, I was earning my keep," said Hunter, his voice quiet and somehow far away. "And whenever they did something good, it was, in a way, something I contributed to."

 

Tavi nodded. "I get it."

 

He stood up. "You guys- you're like my kids, almost." He suddenly grinned. "Well, not exactly. You're fuzzier than my kids ever were."

 

"You think of me and Nick and Judy as-"

 

He blinked. "Well, kinda. I mean- look, don't read too much into it, okay?" Suddenly uncomfortable, he busied himself with making the small bed. "You know, I was starting to get used to this place. You don't notice the fish smell nearly so much after a while."

 

Tavi walked to the door and pulled it open with some difficulty. She hesitated on the step, looked back at Hunter. "Hey, Hunter."

 

"Yeah, rookie?"

 

"I definitely don't think of you as my dad."

 

He shook his head before turning around. "Well, no, I don't expect...you..." he trailed off when he saw that she was gone. "Huh."

 

Hunter scratched his head. "Wonder what that was all about?"

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

The train chugged along, leaving the green fields of Bunnyburrow behind, towards the silvery skyscrapers of Zootopia. Hunter stood in the observation car at the front of the train, watching as the sun's rays lit up the city. The alabaster wall of the Tundratown glacier, the vibrant green of the Rainforest District, the sense of life and energy-

 

He sighed. "Okay, I guess it is kinda pretty."

 

Tavi rolled her eyes. "That's the best I'm going to get, I suppose."

 

Judy was leaning against Nick nearby. "Back to the city," she said, somewhat wistfully. "You know, they say you can never go home again."

 

"Thomas Wolf," said Nick.

 

They all looked at him. He shook his head. "Okay, by now you guys shouldn't be surprised that I'm well-read."

 

Hunter reached over and playfully mussed his head. "Yeah, but you have to admit it's kinda funny."

 

"Hey, knock it off!" complained Nick. "You're mussing my fur."

 

"Yeah, that's the point."

 

"So," said Judy. "You wanted us to all come up here for something."

 

Hunter sobered. "Yeah." He took a step forward, shoving his hands in his pockets. "After I dealt with Lucas, someone contacted me on the shuttle. Said his name was Prometheus."

 

"Prometheus?" asked Nick. "Is that a human name?"

 

"Sort of. Comes from ancient mythology- Prometheus stole fire from the gods."

 

"Code name?" suggested Judy.

 

Hunter nodded. "Has to be. He made me an offer."

 

Nick raised an eyebrow. "The usual?"

 

"Yeah. Join or die."

 

"Join what?" asked Tavi.

 

Hunter shook his head. "Hell if I know. Said he wanted to make humanity prosper. Said he didn't have anything against the Terrans, but- I got the impression that if you aren't with him, you're against him."

 

The smaller mammals all glanced at one another. "What did you say?" asked Tavi.

 

"To the offer? I refused."

 

"Uh-huh. Politely?"

 

Hunter turned to face them, and they all flinched slightly at his eyes. "He was working with Lucas. He let my wife and children die. No, I wasn't entirely polite."

 

"So what are we going to do?" asked Tavi. "I mean, he must be a human. So he's almost certainly not on Terra."

  
"Maybe not," said Judy. "But I think we need to find out who he is. And what he wants."

 

Nick nodded. "And how to stop him."

 

They all turned to face the city, watching it in silence broken only by the sound of the train cutting through the air.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first of all I must admit I'm not particularly keen on exactly how this chapter turned out- I just wasn't feeling it as far as the humor goes, for the most part. There's a few good lines in there, but- I dunno. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I may re-write it at a later time.
> 
> Thomas Wolfe was the author with the "can't go home again" quote. I swear, more and more people I reference seem to have animal names. It's weird. There's also a Tom Wolfe (Bonfire of the Vanities, The Right Stuff) who is an amazing author and I highly recommend him. 
> 
> I took a bit of a liberty with the dimensions of the Hopps burrow- I really, really wanted to make the Winnie the Pooh joke. That said, it seems like Zootopian mammals are a bit closer to human size than their real-life versions- I read one thing that suggested Judy was in fact a hare, as she was significantly larger than a European rabbit would be. Certainly they are modified in other ways- their paws are much more human-like, to the extent that hoofed mammals seem to have fingers on their forepaws. This is actually going to be brought up in the plot of the next major arc.
> 
> And speaking of which- it's coming. I'm almost positive the title will be Hunter's Peace, and it's going to be a "long arc" story. I may- not sure yet- write a very short vignette dealing with the first contact (well, the first re-contact) between humanity and Terra- in other words, a short time before the events of Hunter's Rules. If so, I'll likely include it as a prologue of sorts in Hunter's Peace. As far as when I'll be posting it- it's going to be a little bit, I'm afraid. Probably about two to three weeks, though if I really take off I may get it going sooner. The good news is that when I post, it'll probably be 10-15 chapters at once- because of the way I do my plots, I need to write a fair amount before posting, because I change things up as I go frequently. Most of my (numerous) continuity errors are due to not doing this like I write a real novel or story, all at one go and go back. Not to say I'm not enjoying this style- it's quite fun in its way.
> 
> One final thing. I made a comment about hoping this fic took off in fandom- that's still true, but I just wanted to be clear that I still really appreciate those folks who are reading and enjoying, especially the very kind comments you guys have made. I didn't want to seem ungrateful- you all have been great and I really appreciate the support. I hope you're enjoying and will continue to enjoy. Thanks so much!


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